Is It Worth It To Start Affiliate Marketing in 2024?

You probably have heard about affiliate marketing and how people make millions of dollars by sharing links online. The truth is affiliate marketing is a billion-dollar industry that has many opportunities for everyone to earn passive income. However, it is more than just sharing links and collecting cheques. You need to build an audience on social media channels or have solid traffic on your blog to get sizable commissions.

You can start affiliate marketing as a side hustle or go into it full time to increase your earning potential. It is a good way to earn passive income because you set it up once and earn it every time someone buys through your links.

So, is it worth it to start affiliate marketing in 2024? This article shares everything you need to know to start affiliate marketing step by step in 2024. We also share why you should start affiliate marketing and what you need to do to become an affiliate marketer.

What is Affiliate Marketing and How Does it Work?

Affiliate marketing is when you get paid to promote a product or service and earn a commission for every sale. Companies adopt the sales model to increase their leads and revenue by leveraging other people’s audiences.

When you register to an affiliate program you get a unique link to track people who buy through your link. This helps the company to know the people you’ve referred to them so they can pay you.

All you need to do is boost traffic to your affiliate link through content on publishing platforms. You earn a commission every time people buy the product, click on the links, or register for free trials through your unique link.

You can register directly on the company website as an affiliate or register on affiliate networks such as Share a Sale, Commission Junction, or Click Bank which allow you to apply to multiple programs.

3 Benefits of Affiliate Marketing

So why should you start affiliate marketing? Let’s look at the benefits of affiliate marketing

1. Low cost to start

Unlike a brick and mortar store or an e-commerce store, you don’t have to buy the products or stock them. You don’t have to deal with customers or track shipping. You don’t even have to buy the products that you are recommending.

That means the cost is favorable for beginners because you don’t have to spend money to create or buy products, pay rent for a shop, or buy equipment. It is low cost and low risk and you can leave if it doesn’t work out without losses.

All you need is an understanding of how the products work, get your affiliate links, and start promoting them.

2. Able to earn passive income

With affiliate marketing, you can make money while you sleep. All you need to do is set up the blog or social media channel, build your audience then keep promoting your links. Some products will earn you recurring commissions every time someone buys through your link.

Unlike selling products or services where you earn by giving something, with affiliate marketing you can earn from links any time any day with minimal effort after the first setup.

3. Unlimited earning potential

If 10 customers buy through your link, you make money without the need to restock or sell your services. That makes affiliate marketing have unlimited earning potential. Furthermore, you can select products with higher commissions and increase your income.

Some affiliate programs pay between 1% to 50% while others offer recurring commissions of 20% and more. The earning potential is unlimited because you can promote as many programs as you wish and earn commission from all of them. You can also leverage all social media channels and boost your traffic with ads to make more money.

How Much Does it Cost to Start Affiliate Marketing

The cost of starting affiliate marketing ranges from $0 to $500 depending on your skill levels, the type of platforms you want to build, and your marketing strategy.

You can start affiliate marketing for free using free platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to build an audience in your niche. All you need to do is create content related to the products you want to promote and get free traffic to your affiliate links.

Furthermore, the best affiliate programs are free to join since most businesses use affiliates to promote their e-commerce products.

If you want to use a website, you need to pay for a domain name, hosting package, and website design in case you don’t have the skills to set it up yourself. Another cost may be advertising if you use paid ads on YouTube or Facebook to market the affiliate links.

How to Start Affiliate Marketing For Beginners: Step By Step Guide

Now that you know the basics about affiliate marketing, let’s look at how to start affiliate marketing step by step even if you are a beginner.

1. Choose a niche

The first to start affiliate marketing for beginners is to choose your niche, which means the type of industry you want to work in. Choosing your niche is important so that you can focus your marketing effort on a specific audience instead of a broad audience.

Choose a niche that you are interested in, have some knowledge or expertise in, or are willing to learn for a long time. Moreover, choose a niche that you are passionate about so that you won’t get bored when it takes too long to start earning.

The most common niches with the best affiliate programs include health, money, love, and personal improvement. Do your research and select a sub niche as going for the huge category may be competitive for beginners.

2. Choose your content platform

Now that you have an idea of a category you want to focus on, you need to decide on the platform to push your content. The best options for publishing platforms include a blog, YouTube, an email newsletter, podcast, or social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.

If you are good at writing choose a blog or Facebook. On the other hand, if you are good with video marketing then go for YouTube and Tiktok.

The best thing about a blog it is easy to add links to your content and then use SEO to rank your content on Google and get consistent traffic effortlessly. For a YouTube channel, you can add your affiliate links to the description. For social media, you have to use link tools such as Linktree or Beacons to house your links on one page that you can add to your link in bio.

3. Select an affiliate program to promote

There are plenty of affiliate programs that you can join depending on your niche. Some have high commissions while some have commissions and you have to have more referrals. You can also choose programs that have recurring commissions, especially for tech and software products such as Hubspot.

As a beginner go for low paying products that require high traffic volume such as Amazon because they are less competitive and are easy to convert. Alternatively, you can also opt for programs that target businesses and have niche products since they need low traffic volume but pay high commissions. For example, web hosting or tech programs.

If you are struggling to find affiliate programs to promote do a quick Google search with your niche + affiliate program (e.g. health + affiliate programs) to find some of the popular products and choose the one that fits your audience better.

Some of the best affiliate networks with various programs include Amazon Associates, Commission Junction, Share a Sale, and Clickbank.

4. Create content to drive traffic

Now this is an important step in your affiliate marketing journey. Create a content marketing strategy and start creating high quality content around the affiliate niche and products that you chose.

Ensure that the content answers the pain points of your customers so that they will be compelled to purchase products through your link. Don’t just promote products for the sake, check their reviews or buy them and try them out. This will build your credibility and give you confidence to promote your products.

5. Grow your audience and boost traffic

If you want to start affiliate marketing with no money, then use the free path where you create content consistently and boost traffic to your site or social platforms organically.

Create content around a topic that your target audience is looking to boost your earning potential. Then, use SEO to optimize your pages to rank high in Google to boost your traffic and increase conversions.

You can also use an email list to push your content and promote your affiliate links. But first, you need to give people an incentive like a free eBook so that they can sign up for your newsletter. Then, share helpful content and add your affiliate links when possible to increase conversions.

If you have a budget then you can use Paid ads to boost your traffic. this is not foolproof as you may lose money if you don’t optimize the ads to increase leads. Furthermore, once you stop paying for ads your traffic will stop too. It is advisable to only use ads if the affiliate program has high commissions and is easy to convert.

Whatever ways you choose to market your links, ensure to grow your audience and make them trust you so that you can scale your affiliate marketing. Keep creating high quality content on your blog, YouTube, or social platforms, and watch your affiliate income increase.

FAQs

• Is affiliate marketing worth it for beginners?

Affiliate marketing is worth it for beginners. It is not capital intensive and it is easy to learn and start making passive income online.

• Can I do affiliate marketing without a website?

Yes, you can start affiliate marketing without a website. You can use social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, an email list, or a podcast to promote your affiliate links to your audience.

• Is it worth it to start affiliate marketing?

Absolutely. It is possible to make passive income with affiliate marketing as long as you choose profitable products to promote and get enough traffic to your affiliate links. When done properly with the right skills and effort affiliate marketing can earn you full time income.

• How long will it take to learn affiliate marketing?

You can learn affiliate marketing in a month or two and get the necessary skills to get started. However, give yourself about six months to one year to start earning steady income from affiliate marketing.

Final Thoughts

So, is it worth it to start affiliate marketing in 2024? Absolutely. Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn passive income. However, you need to put in effort and be patient to grow your audience and traffic before you can earn a full time income. Once you make your first sale continue growing your platforms to generate more traffic and scale your income. Affiliate marketing takes time so be ready to put in the work and in no time you will increase your income.

What is your best affiliate marketing program to promote? Share in the comments below.

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