Writing a blog can be much more than a side project. It can even provide you with a source of income. It is entirely up to you whether that income is your primary source of income or a supplement. Bloggers can make a lot of money with affiliate marketing, and it’s not difficult to get started. The only limitation you will face is yourself. It will simply take time, effort, and a little bit of luck. Affiliate marketing is becoming popular in recent times. It’s a strategy that benefits both publishers and advertisers. Therefore, it is one of the most effective ways for bloggers to monetize their content and earn money. All sizes of businesses can increase their brand awareness in a cost-effective way. In this article, we will tell you about the steps to getting started in affiliate marketing for bloggers.
Definition
Affiliate marketing is a straightforward concept. An affiliate (you, the blogger) promotes a company’s products or services by using a unique link that points to your blog as the source of traffic. You earn a commission when a reader clicks on your link or buys the product you’re promoting. In essence, you send leads and traffic to an advertiser’s or seller’s website, and they pay you for it. In other words, affiliate marketing is a lot like commission sales. The difference is that you’re driving traffic and leads to the merchant/advertiser’s website through your blog posts.
Steps to Start Affiliate Marketing
There are four steps to start affiliate marketing. We will tell you one by one.
1- Find a Company and Product
The first step is to find the company and choose a product. It is critical that you choose to represent a product you enjoy and that is related to an industry about which you want to write. Once you have decided on a product, see if the companies you want to work with have affiliate marketing programs. Not everyone will, but it’s more common than you might think.
2- Sign Up as an Affiliate
It is important to sign up as an affiliate for a product. But before you sign up, you have to pay attention to these four things.
● Payment amount
● Payment schedule
● Legal obligation
● Restriction
Individual programmes will have different requirements for getting started. Make sure to pay close attention to them. The amount of commission you earn per sale is determined by the programme and the product. The higher the commission, the higher the value of the product.
3- Promote Product and Add Affiliate Links
The third step is to promote the product and add affiliate links. Writing about a product without adding an affiliate link will not work for you. The affiliate programme will provide you with a URL to use when linking to its product.
The Thirsty Affiliates plugin is an excellent place to begin. It enables you to hide long, unappealing affiliate links, protect your commissions from theft, and easily insert affiliate links into blog posts. For blog posts, long-term content is one of the best ways to promote a product. Google Analytics can help you determine which keywords people use to find your website.
4- Get Paid for Products
The final step is to receive payment for your affiliate products. When a visitor clicks the link on your website, it will take him to a third-party website. Then, you receive a commission for the link you generated. Your chances of making sales will increase as you create more posts on your website. You will receive regular payouts as long as you follow the platform’s legal obligations.
What is an Affiliate Program?
It is a mechanism used to create an agreement between the affiliate and the business or merchant. Some affiliates sign up for sizable networks like Amazon Affiliates, which provide access to thousands of products. Other marketers concentrate on expensive goods, which typically come from initiatives that support technological products.
Here are some of the best affiliate programs you can sign up for.
1- Rakuten Marketing
It is one of the best programs that you can join. You can find goods from market leaders like DialogTech, Sephora, Virgin Holidays, New Balance, and many other brands among more than 1000 merchants. This programme is helpful for those who are just getting started.
2- CJ Affiliate
CJ Affiliate’s programme includes Zappos, Verizon, Travelocity, and other heavy hitters. The user interface is simple to use, and the advertiser filters allow you to quickly identify the most profitable programmes. There’s also a cool widget-maker that lets you drag and drop products into a slideshow, grid, or collage that can be embedded in your content.
3- Creative Market
It is an example of a niche affiliate programme. If your audience is looking for photos, graphics, and WordPress themes, then the creative market is a great option. The company pays a 15% commission on your customer’s first purchase.
Services for Email Marketing
Here are some of the best email marketing services that you can use.
1- Sendinblue
It is much more than email marketing software. It offers users a full toolkit for sales and marketing. Each feature slots together to build out your email marketing strategy from A to Z. It offers you powerful features like laser-focused segmentation, personalized content, A/B testing, and send time optimization.
2- Mailchimp
It is the most popular, but also one of the most expensive, email services. You can quickly create beautiful campaigns with the help of a drag-and-drop email builder. Additionally, you can expand your audience by including pop-up signup forms on your website.
3- Convertkit
It is an email service for bloggers and YouTubers. You can easily grow your audience with customized landing page templates. Its signup form helps you to increase conversions.
4- Mailerlite
It is an email marketing service for beginners. You can easily create any kind of email campaign with the help of a drag-and-drop editor. Additionally, it offers email automation and personalization based on user behavior.
How Affiliate Marketing can be a Great Source of Income
It can help you make money very easily without putting in much effort. All you have to do is promote the services or products of others on your website or social media page. And you earn a piece of the profit from the sales generated through your professional marketing efforts. It can be a very simple and fine source for you. Therefore, it can be a great source of income for you.
Conclusion
Blogging is one of the best and easiest ways to earn a passive income. You might choose the method that we have discussed above for affiliate marketing. With this, you can easily earn some money in a small amount of time. Plus, in return, you will get the best benefits. The affiliate industry is rapidly expanding and has enormous potential. You can also choose an affiliate programme and an email service to generate more income. To succeed in the affiliate business, you have to choose the right affiliate partners, promote the product, and understand the importance of the audience.
