Affiliate marketing is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing wherein you refer someone to any online product and when that person buys the product based on your recommendation, you receive a commission.
Every big company like Amazon, Apple, and Google have an affiliate program, which is free to join by any individual across the globe. If you didn’t know about this, then pay close attention to the rest of this guide, my friend; you are about to discover one of the most exciting aspects of making money from home.
A company that offers an affiliate marketing program might call it by other names, such as “Referral Program” or “Partners program”.
This commission varies from $1 to $1,000 depending on what product you are promoting.
Here is how affiliate marketing works in 4 simple steps:
- You join an affiliate program
- You pick a product to promote (You will get a unique affiliate link)
- You share the link via Social media, Blog, YouTube videos, Facebook ads or any other form
- When someone makes a purchase, you earn a handsome affiliate commission.
The below infographic will help you understand the lifecycle of affiliate marketing:
So, in simple words:
Any company that sells products online, offers an affiliate program, which is free to join. It is as simple as creating an online profile.
You can simply sign up for the program and get your unique tracking link. Now, whenever you are writing about their product, you can simply use this unique tracking affiliate link to recommend the company’s site. You will get a commission if your readers/traffic buy anything by clicking your affiliate link.
Is it as easy as it sounds?
Yes, and no!
Yes, because of 2 reasons:
- Joining an affiliate program
- Getting paid
Is super easy. Thanks to advancements in digital marketing, and services like PayPal and Payoneer, this all is automated.
The tough part is, how badly you want this.
To become successful in affiliate marketing, you need to train regularly (Daily). Think of this as learning to play cricket, and the only way you get better is by showing up every day on the ground.
And then there is another part, as we gain more responsibilities in life like (job, kids, parents, spouse, weekend parties), we find it hard to dedicate time for acquiring learning new skills.
This is where the question comes:
How badly do you need this?
If your want or need falls in the “unsure” segment, take a 360 view of life, and ask what is that you have to lose and what are the possible gains.
If dedicating 1-2 hours a day for few months could give you financial freedom for life, it doesnot sound like a bad deal.
Moreover, it is a proven method that works!
Moving on…
