How To Start an Affiliate Marketing Business With $0 And Even If You're a Beginner (2024)

Let's talk about what affiliate marketing is and why you should do affiliate marketing.


Most importantly, how can affiliate marketing help you achieve financial and time freedom by making money online?

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a way for you to make money just by recommending a product or getting a sale on another person's offer. So it's a business model that you can use without having an actual business.


I understand not everybody wants to start their own business so this is a great way that you can start making money without committing to that.


There are many ways to get started with affiliate marketing, and I'll go over each one in this post. You can perform affiliate marketing from anywhere in the globe and start with a $0 investment.

The major issue that arises when people start this business

I will explain the details of affiliate marketing and more importantly, how you can start and grow your business to reach six, seven, and even eight-figure levels using the affiliate marketing model.


Before we get into the specific techniques or details about affiliate marketing, I want to discuss a major issue that arises when people start this business:


Do you have to devote all your time?


Do you need to spend 40 to 50 hours per week to make your affiliate marketing business a success?


The answer is clearly 'NO.'


You can devote about five to ten hours per week and still make money with affiliate marketing. The goal is to establish a solid foundation and continuously enhance your skills every week.


I'll show you how to get started and how to improve your business while you continue your traditional 9-5 job.


The beauty of affiliate marketing is that it allows you to transition from a traditional job to being a full-time affiliate marketer and becoming an online business owner.


You don't need to concern yourself with 95% of the typical business structures.


This is why affiliate marketing is the most effective way to break free from traditional work, because you don't have to worry about other parts of the business that are usually required in other businesses.


Let's dive into the details of affiliate marketing and how you can begin making money as soon as possible.

Why Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the promotion of other people's products.


One example of affiliate marketing would be when I'm looking for a new camera on TikTok or Instagram and I see someone posting about it. If I click on their link and buy the camera from Amazon or another website, they will receive a commission from the sale. This is a great way for them to make money without having to worry about starting a business or shipping their product, and they can make money just by recommending it to others.


To be honest, it's entirely up to you whether or not to reveal your face. It's not all about selling when it comes to affiliate marketing; some programs pay you for referring free trial users, or even for simply clicking on a link or downloading an app. It truly just depends; on some affiliate marketing platforms, you only receive 5% of the transaction, but on other affiliate marketing deals, you may receive 50% of the sale.


However, affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, so patience is needed, just like it is with any other online business model. This is true of anything you do to make money online.


The appeal of affiliate marketing is that it allows you to take on the role of an intermediary and profit by recommending products that customers will purchase.


In addition, I'll teach you how to spot possible customers and—above all—how to increase your earnings.


Affiliate marketing's primary advantage is that it relieves you of the burden of managing product manufacturing, fulfillment, customer service, and refund management for returned products.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Works?

To illustrate how affiliate marketing works, let's consider Amazon Associates, one of the largest e-commerce websites in the world.


Amazon allows affiliates to promote its products, and affiliates can earn commissions from 3% to 10% on sales made through their unique affiliate links.


This means you can promote products listed on Amazon, direct potential buyers using your affiliate links, and receive a commission for each sale generated through your links.


Another platform for affiliate marketing is ClickBank, which focuses on digital products. ClickBank offers a wide range of digital products, such as online courses, e-books, and software.


Affiliates can choose the products to promote and earn commissions on sales, digital products are usually at a higher margin than physical products.


Additionally, there is Digistore24, a platform with global reach that offers a variety of digital products for affiliate marketers to promote. You can sign up for free and search for products in many niches, with the potential for huge commissions.


One of my favorite platforms that offer affiliate commissions is Systeme.io. It's not only an all-in-one marketing platform but also you'll get 60% commissions promoting the platform.


You can read my full Systeme.io review in this blog post. And see it yourself.


It's crucial to take into account both the commission rates and the product's suitability for your niche when selecting affiliate programs. Certain affiliate programs provide commissions that are more alluring, particularly for products pertaining to business and investments. Products that assist consumers in improving their lives or increasing their income are frequently linked to higher commissions.


Use search engines like Google to find opportunities if you're interested in finding more affiliate programs that might not be listed on well-known networks like ClickBank or Digistore24. To find relevant affiliate opportunities, you could, for instance, search for your niche and then add "affiliate program." Example: travel+affilaite program.

How To Drive Traffic To Your Affiliate Products?

In my opinion, there are three things I would personally do as an affiliate marketing novice.


In addition to creating an Amazon Affiliates account, if you haven't already, I would set up an Instagram account, TikTok account, and YouTube channel.


You can drive traffic to your affiliate marketing links on these three different platforms.


Establishing a YouTube channel to advertise products is another completely free method. You could become someone who just enjoys reviewing products and making unboxing videos, if that's what you want to do. This is the main platform that I'm using to drive traffic to my affiliate offers.


You can start uploading videos to these three platforms.


You could start a YouTube channel, a TikTok, or an Instagram account, and you'll soon realize that doing so will not only help you grow your account by getting people to click on your affiliate links and review various products, but it will also likely lead to brand deals.

Different ways to make money on affiliate marketing

  • PAY PER SALE
  • PAY PER ACTION
  • PAY PER INSTALL
  • PAY PER CLICK

1) Pay Per Sale - This is the most popular affiliate marketing strategy, and it clearly links into e-commerce websites like Amazon, as Amazon offers a commission for each sale you make.


2) Pay Per Action - In this scenario, you receive payment for completing a particular task, such as subscribing to a newsletter, clicking a link on a website, contacting someone, or submitting a form.


3. Pay Per Install - This is where you get paid for every install generated from your website traffic or you know through your social media links. The goal of that content would be to promote mobile apps or software that people download or install; this can even include free apps, so like you don't have to be out there trying to sell people an app because most of the apps are free and just want to get downloads on their free app.


4. Pay Per Click - Some websites will pay you simply for driving traffic to their website; in this case, you will receive a commission for each and every click on your affiliate link, regardless of the user's action or lack thereof. This is typically employed by larger brands who are attempting to increase brand awareness, but this one's not usually common.

Two Types Of Affiliate Products

  • Niche Type Products / Physical Products
  • Digital Products

1) Niche Type Products / Physical Products - This is why it's important to choose a niche. If you choose a niche account to promote a niche product, your account will grow faster because social media platforms know who to push your content to. When I'm ready to shop for a new camera, I always search on TikTok and Instagram and try to find Tech Gear influencers because that's their niche and I always follow them too because I'm interested in technology.


As a novice, this is because TikTok, Instagram, and even YouTube won't know who to show your content to if you're posting about fashion, money, dogs, and everything else in the same post. It's just not something I would advise—it's like trying to multitask and focus on one thing at a time. Instead, take your time and be patient.


2) Digital Products - This is if you were selling a digital product for somebody else. Affiliate marketing is not limited to physical products; this extends to digital products as well.


This means you can promote not only physical products but also software, online courses, e-books, and more. This is my favorite option as this has higher commissions than physical products.


For example, you can earn commissions by promoting health and fitness courses or software subscriptions, such as those offered by Netflix.


Some affiliate program software even offers recurring commissions, which I will cover in this series.


Examples of digital products.

  • E-book
  • Online Courses
  • Templates
  • Presets
  • Music
  • Softwares

Being authentic is crucial in affiliate marketing, no matter what you do. When you're producing content, you need to ask yourself, "Why would somebody follow me?" You also need to start taking social media seriously and consider the subject matter of your account.


In essence, affiliate marketing entails promoting other businesses' physical or digital products in exchange for a commission on sales made through your special affiliate link.


It provides a scalable and profitable alternative to developing and overseeing products for the establishment of an online business.


SHARE


Download your FREE GUIDE. Discover the 3 - Simple Steps To Start Making Money with Digital Products.

Read the LATEST Blog Post!

About The Author

Rose Gumera

I'm a seasoned online marketer with over 5 years of hands-on experience in creating courses, content, and managing a thriving digital product business in the Philippines. My blog offers in-depth insights and reviews on the most effective tools and strategies I've used, providing valuable guidance for fellow marketers and entrepreneurs looking to excel in the digital landscape. Join me to explore the latest trends and proven tactics in digital marketing, and let's drive your business success together.

This site is not a part of the Facebook website or Facebook Inc. Additionally, This site is NOT endorsed by Facebook in any way. FACEBOOK is a trademark of FACEBOOK, Inc.

We use cookies to ensure you get the best user experience from this website.

Rose Gumera © 2024. All Rights Reserved