Affiliate marketing is a convenient and low-risk way to make money online. Affiliate marketers promote services and products to drive sales, because of which they earn commissions. Although you can make money with affiliate marketing with little effort, the process is more complex than it may seem. In this post, I will give you a detailed description of how you can successfully generate passive income through affiliate marketing.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing process in which affiliates promote products and services of online businesses to earn commission. Affiliate merchant, affiliate marketer, and affiliate network are the three essential elements of affiliate marketing.

Affiliate Merchant: An affiliate merchant is an online business, brand, or vendor that hires affiliates to promote their products or services.

Affiliate Marketer: Affiliate marketer refers to a person or company promoting merchant products to earn a commission. The affiliates promote products in their content and earn a commission for each click, lead, or sale they generate.

Affiliate Network: Affiliate networks are platforms or services that serve as an intermediary connecting affiliates with merchants. Popular affiliate networks include The Amazon Affiliate, ShareASale, and CJ Affiliate.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

To make money with affiliate marketing, you must first understand how it works.

Affiliate marketing works as follows:

1. The affiliate merchant announces the affiliate program through its website or affiliate network.
2. The affiliate marketers sign up for the affiliate program.
3. The merchant accepts or rejects the affiliate based on the acceptance criteria.
4. The affiliate promotes products by placing links in the content.
5. A visitor clicks on the affiliate link.
6. The visitor is taken to the merchant’s site, where he buys the product.
7. The merchant tracks the sale to find out which affiliate generated the sale.
8. The merchant pays a commission to the affiliate. 

How Do Affiliate Marketers Get Paid?

Affiliate marketers get paid in many ways, such as:

Pay per sale: In pay per sale model, the affiliates are paid for every sale they generate through their affiliate links. It is the most commonly used model. 

Pay per click: In pay per click model, the affiliates are paid for every click on the affiliate link, regardless of whether the click results in a sale. 

Pay per lead: In this model, the affiliates get a commission for every lead generated for the business.  

Revenue sharing: In revenue sharing, the affiliates receive a percentage of the sales revenue. 

Cost per action: In the cost per action model, the affiliates are paid if the referred consumer takes a specific action such as a newsletter sign or software download.

Types of Affiliate Marketing

It is not necessary to promote products you are associated with to make money with affiliate marketing. The affiliates may or may not be connected with the products they promote. Similarly, they may or may not have personal experience using the products. 

Based on how the affiliate marketer is associated with the product, affiliate marketing can be categorized into the following three types:

Unattached Affiliate Marketing

In unattached affiliate marketing, affiliates promote products unrelated to their niche. It is basic pay-per-click marketing. In this model, affiliates do not have any connection, knowledge, or experience related to the products they are promoting. 

Related Affiliate Marketing

In related affiliate marketing, affiliates promote products they don’t use but are related to their niche. Affiliates promote products through a channel, such as blog posts, YouTube videos, TikTok videos, or Instagram reels. In this model, affiliates get paid per click, lead, or sale.

Involved Affiliate Marketing

In involved affiliate marketing, the affiliates promote only those products they have personally used and trust. In this type of affiliate marketing, the affiliate significantly influences its followers. The affiliate uses his influence to convince people to buy the recommended product or service. 

Steps to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing

Step 1: Choose a Platform 

Making money online with affiliate marketing requires choosing the right platform for creating and promoting content. The choice of platform will impact your affiliate marketing earnings. You may only generate sales and make money with affiliate marketing if you use a platform suitable for your niche. For example, YouTube videos work way better for traveling-related niches than blogs. 

Consider the following when choosing the platform:

1. On which platform you would find your target audience. 
2. Which platform you can use more conveniently?
3. Which platform is best suited for your niche?

The following are the top platforms you can use to make money with affiliate marketing:

• Blog
• YouTube
• Instagram
• TikTok
• Pinterest 

Among the above platforms, YouTube and Blogs are the most popular. 

Blogging is an ideal way to make money online. However, you need a web hosting server and a website builder to start a blog. WordPress, Weebly, and Weebly are among the top solutions you can use to create your website or blog. While Bluehost, Hostinger, Elementor, HostGator, and Cloudways are popular web hosting platforms.

Step 2: Choose and Join the Right Affiliate Program

To make money with affiliate marketing, you should carefully choose the affiliate programs. Every program has features and terms that can directly impact your sales and earnings. When choosing the right affiliate program, consider the following:

Cookie Life

A small cookie, known as an affiliate cookie, is saved on the affiliate partner’s device whenever someone clicks on the affiliate link. The cookie has an expiration date, which determines the time frame for the purchase for you to qualify for the commission. Therefore, checking the cookie life before you sign up for an affiliate program is critical. The longer the cookie life, the greater the chances of making a commission.

Affiliate programs have varying cookie lives, such as 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days. For example, SEMrush, a famous tool for digital marketing services ranging from keyword research to competitor analysis, has an affiliate program with a 120-day cookie life. Moosend, a renowned marketing tool, also has a 120-day cookie life.

Few affiliate programs have lifetime cookies, meaning their cookies do not have an expiration date. Joining a lifetime cookie affiliate program means you will be entitled to a commission even if the buyer purchases after six months of clicking the affiliate link.

Commission Rate

Creating content requires time, energy, and resources. Therefore, consider the commission rate the affiliate program will pay before signing up for an affiliate program. Commission rates directly impact how much and quickly you make money with affiliate marketing.

Some affiliate programs give a high commission, and some have a low commission. Learn about the commission rates and make a wise choice that would benefit you in the future for successful affiliate marketing.

Commission Structure

Different affiliate programs have varying commission structures, impacting how you make money with affiliate marketing. Evaluating the commission structure helps you choose the best affiliate program worth your efforts and time. Following are the various commission structures offered by affiliate programs:

One Tier

A one-time commission is paid for every sale generated from your affiliate link.

Two-Tier

 For example, the affiliate program of WP Engine, which is a web hosting platform, offers two-tier commissions and pays $50 for every sale generated by an affiliate referred by you. A few other two-tiered affiliate programs include Builderall and SEOreseller.com, which are great digital marketing platforms.

Climbing Tiers

In climbing tiers payment structure, the commission rate increases with the number of sales. For example, the HostGator affiliate program gives $65 per sale to affiliates who generate up to five monthly sales. However, affiliates who generate over 21 monthly sales get $125 per sale. HostGator is a web-hosting service that hosts over two million websites. It guarantees 99.9% uptime and free first-year domain name registration.

GreenGeeks is another web hosting service famous for being an eco-friendly web hosting provider. It gives $50 to its affiliates for every sale referred by their affiliate links. The commission goes up to $100 per sale for affiliates who generate six or more monthly sales.

Recurring Commissions

Mostly, subscription services give recurring commissions. As an affiliate, you get paid until the people referred by your link are subscribed to the services. For example, AWeber and GetResponse, which offer email marketing services, have recurring commission affiliate programs.

In addition, SEMrush and SerpStat are two extensively used SEO tools for keyword research, backlink research, and website analysis, also offering recurring commissions. Thrive Themes is another popular website that offers recurring commissions to its affiliates. Thrive Themes sells WordPress themes and plugins designed to drive conversion rates.

Payment Methods

After generating several sales, it would be heartbreaking to realize that the affiliate program pays through a payment method unavailable in your country. For example, a leading customer experience automation platform, ActiveCampaign, has an affiliate program that pays only through Paypal.

Promotion Methods

Successful affiliate marketing depends on promotion methods. Affiliate marketers can promote products and services in multiple ways, such as referral links, banner ads, or pop-up ads. From my experience, different products require different promotional methods. For example, a promotion method that works well for the health and beauty niche may give different results for the marketing niche.

Promotion methods also impact how you make money with affiliate marketing. Remember, some affiliate programs have limitations on promotional methods. For example, the Bluehost affiliate program allows you to promote through banner ads and text links.

Therefore, it is critical to take some time and figure out which method is best suited to you without violating the terms and conditions of the affiliate program.

Terms and Conditions

You can make money with affiliate marketing only if you abide by the terms and conditions of the affiliate program.

Every affiliate program has a set of rules, regulations, and guidelines that you must follow. These rules and regulations specify the rights and responsibilities of affiliates, rules related to affiliate links, payment policy, commission rates, forbidden actions, termination or suspension rules, etc.

Additionally, there may be some conditions or terms that may not be in your favor. Therefore, it is essential to read the terms and conditions carefully and abide by them to earn steady commissions without being expelled.

Payment Threshold

Different affiliate programs have different payment thresholds you must reach before withdrawing your commission. For example, an affiliate program may require you to earn a $100 commission before you receive the amount in your account.

The payment threshold is essential for those affiliates who wish to withdraw their commission as soon as they earn it without waiting for it to reach a specific amount. The minimum amount of payment an affiliate can receive varies depending on the terms and conditions of the affiliate program.

For example, if you join Clickfunnels as an affiliate, your commission must reach $100 before you can withdraw it into your account. Clickfunnels enables businesses to increase their sales through the website and funnel-building services. Similarly, ConvertKit, an email marketing tool, has an affiliate program with no minimum payment threshold. Instead, you get your commission immediately after it is approved.

Payment Frequency

Payment frequency is another factor to consider before joining an affiliate program. Most affiliate programs pay weekly or monthly, while few pay daily. For example, ClickMagick, a digital marketing platform for tracking conversions, has an affiliate program offering a daily payment schedule.

Although most affiliate marketers prefer daily or weekly payments, as the money keeps flowing into their accounts, there is no strict rule. Instead, you will decide what payment frequency suits you.

Material Provided by the Company

I prefer affiliate programs that provide advertisement material for promotions like banners, videos, and images. The material provided by the company ensures uniform promotion by all affiliates and helps affiliates with promotions.

Affiliate Support

As an affiliate marketer, you will often need help from an insider of the affiliate program you have joined. Some affiliate programs assign a representative to assist you and help you with your challenges, while others do not. Therefore, carefully choose the program and ensure you will have access to a representative.

Step 3: Create High-Quality Content to Promote Products

Content is the key to making money with affiliate marketing. Without high-quality, engaging content, all your marketing efforts will fail. Therefore, to generate sales, creating useful and valuable content is critical.

Affiliate marketing is about attracting prospective customers and giving them a reason to buy the product. Your target audience constitutes people already interested in purchasing a product but not sure which is the right product for them. Through your content, you can help them in making purchase decisions.

To create high-quality content, you should:

• Address your target audience’s concerns, queries, needs, and interests.
• Understand the products you are promoting and create content around them. 

Similarly, to increase clicks and sales, consider the following:

• Use different promotional styles like banner ads, pop-ups, and referral links within content. AdSanity is a popular WordPress plugin to place banners on headers, footers, and sidebars. Similarly, OptinMonster, a lead generation tool, adds affiliate links to lightbox pop-ups, slide-in sign-up forms, floating bars, etc.
• Include affiliate links in your content strategically. Place links only when they fit within the context. 
• Place links earlier in your content, as many people may not read or watch till the end.

However, managing hundreds or thousands of affiliate links would become complex with the growing number of web pages. I recommend using a good plugin or tool such as Pretty Links and ThirstyAffiliates. Both tools cloak links, making links short and simple.

Long links often trigger spam filters when sent in email, affecting email delivery rates. Therefore, cloaking helps increase email delivery rate. Cloaking also helps reduce commission loss by protecting against theft. 

Step 4: Generate Traffic

It is not possible to make money online without generating traffic. The more traffic you generate, the higher the sales. The following are the top ways to generate targeted traffic:

Work on SEO 

You cannot make money with affiliate marketing until your content ranks in search engine result pages. Therefore, optimizing content for search engines is critical to ensure successful affiliate marketing. 

SEO helps increase organic traffic, which is highly beneficial for generating sales. Organic traffic constitutes visitors who found your content in search results. To generate organic traffic, research keywords that will likely rank in top search results. SEMrush, Serpstat, and SpyFu are popular tools you can use to do keyword research. Keyword research tools provide valuable information such as search volume and difficulty, helping you choose the right keywords.

The following are a few other things to consider for SEO:

• Make content mobile-friendly.
• Improve page speed.
• Add meta description.
• Include visuals in the content.
• Use internal links.

Create an Email List

If you want people to return to your site, ask them to subscribe to your email list. Email lists help you communicate with your audiences at any time. You can share exciting and valuable information with them, such as promotions, product updates, free webinar links, and newsletters. Through emails, you can tempt your audiences to keep visiting your site, increasing the chances of sales. 

AWeber, GetResponse, ConvertKit, Moosend, ActiveCampaign, and Pabbly are the top email marketing tools for effective affiliate marketing.

Use Social Media

Social media posts also help generate substantial traffic. Therefore, use social social media and share your content regularly. However, remember, 

Affiliate Marketing Tips to Increase Affiliate Income 

Generate Traffic Before Promoting Products

A common mistake most new affiliates make is not generating traffic before promoting affiliate links. First, you will unlikely get approved for an affiliate program if you do not have decent traffic. Second, you can only generate sales with sufficient traffic. 

Offer Bonus or Incentives

Offering bonuses or incentives can improve your sales, helping you make more money with affiliate marketing. For example, you can provide access to exclusive material if someone makes a purchase. Or, you can give them a free eBook.  

Use Tools

Using tools can save you time and lead to better results. The following are a few tools I recommend every affiliate marketer should use:

BuzzSumo: It helps discover new keywords and generate content ideas and briefs. It is a great platform to find out the most popular content based on links and shares received. You can also use this tool to find key influencers in your niche.

Rev: It is a popular tool that helps convert audio and videos into text. You can use it for on-screen subtitles.

Surfer SEO: It is a content optimization tool that analyzes and compares your content against top-performing content, i.e., pages currently ranking on the first page of search results. You can also use it to generate content briefs and optimized articles.

CoSchedule: It is a marketing calendar to help create, schedule, and publish content and social media posts in one place.

Some other tools that may help you in affiliate marketing are:

• Shutterstock and Envato for stock images.
• Canva and Visme for creating graphics, infographics, presentations, etc.
• Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and WhiteSmoke for checking grammar and plagiarism.

Measure and Track Performance

You can only improve your performance by measuring it, and tracking and measuring performance helps you discover what is working and what is not. Accordingly, you can change your strategy for better results. For example, a particular ad placement may work better than others. 

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways you can make money online. It is low risk and does not involve hefty costs. Additionally, you do not need to have prior technical knowledge. However, remember that it takes time to see the desired results. Creating content, driving traffic, and generating sales takes time and continuous effort. Therefore, to make money with affiliate marketing, be patient and continue doing hard work.