If you’re like most people, you’ve heard that people can make money online by blogging.
But, as a blogger, you may wonder where this revenue comes from and how to get paid. Affiliate marketing is one of the most reliable, established ways to earn money from a blog.
So, here is a brief guide to making money with affiliate marketing.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is essentially the online version of getting paid by commission. When you sign your blog up to join an affiliate network and visitors to your blog purchase the products or services you recommend, you get a percentage of every purchase referred from your blog.
Hundreds of affiliate sites and networks are available, most from sites where you already do your online shopping.
For example, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Skillshare, Walmart, BetterHelp, and other online retailers have their affiliate programs, where you can sign up and earn a commission on their products.
There are affiliate platforms like Awin, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Rakuten, and more.
These platforms allow you to sign up with your blog and access thousands of different online merchants and their products, with a wide range of marketing tools to help promote sales, with the same tracking and revenue platform.
In addition, these platforms simplify the process of finding products to sell on your blog and keeping track of many different affiliate terms and agreements.
How Can Bloggers Make Money with Affiliate Marketing?
The process of making money from your blog with affiliate marketing depends on your blog and the affiliate program you are considering, but here is an overview of the process:
Specialize Your Blog
In affiliate marketing terms, this is called finding your “niche.” For example, if you establish yourself as an expert on beauty, photography, or another subject, your followers are more likely to purchase the products you recommend in that area. For example, if your blog is about knitting and attracts people who are interested in knitting, you will not make much money promoting surfboards.
Research and Join an Affiliate Program
Joining an affiliate program is a two-way process. You will want to find a retailer who carries the products best suited to your blog, with a generous commission and a reputation for reliable payouts.
Likewise, they will review your blog to ensure it meets their quality and content standards and upholds the brand image they want to project. Every affiliate program and retailer has different terms and standards, so do your research and choose a good fit for your blog and visitors.
Create Content That Features the Desired Products
For example, write blog posts featuring the products you want to sell, mentioning why you like them, and recommending them. Then, encourage visitors to purchase products using your links.
Essential Things to Know About Affiliate Marketing on Your Blog
While the basic process of monetizing a blog with affiliate marketing is pretty straightforward, here are the crucial factors to keep in mind.
Disclosure is Mandatory
The law requires you to disclose to your site visitors that you earn commissions on purchases made through your site. In the US, the FTC has specific guidelines for disclosures, policies, and communications required on your blog.
Time is Essential
A visitor to your blog must click your link and complete the purchase to earn a commission. For example, if you recommend Le Creuset cookware, and one of your followers goes to a retail store and purchases it or later goes and buys it online by visiting Amazon directly, you do not get credit or commission on the sale.
Also, most purchases must be completed within a set time limit of the person clicking the link for you to earn a commission. In other words, your content needs to encourage visitors to use your site links and complete their purchases immediately to earn a commission.
Traffic is Everything
Following the above steps, you may successfully set up an affiliate marketing blog and earn a few weekly sales dollars.
But to make a living as an affiliate marketer, you need to make many sales. Consider that, as an Amazon affiliate, you may earn an 8% commission on sales. If one of your followers buys the knitting needles you recommend using your link, you may earn $0.75 from that purchase. You may want to sell 500 pairs of knitting needles a week, but most people who visit your site won’t make any purchases.
You may need to generate something like 10,000 visitors a week to sell 500 pairs of knitting needles and earn $375.
In other words, a blog requires many visitors to consistently make purchases to earn enough money to live on. Your business plan should include:
- How you will generate traffic. Most high-volume traffic generation methods cost money, but that reduces your profits. So how will you get high numbers of visitors to your site?
- Your margin per product. You may earn $0.75 for selling a pair of knitting needles or $30 for selling a Le Creuset Dutch oven. When choosing your specialty, consider the products likely to appeal to your readers, be quickly saleable, and earn a good commission.
Conclusion
Bloggers can make money with affiliate marketing, which is surprisingly simple. However, if your goal is to make a living as a blogger, it requires more strategy and planning, and you need to create content that attracts many visitors to your blog every day.
Making a little bit of money with affiliate marketing is easy. However, making more money with affiliate marketing can be a challenge. So just make sure you do your research and learn as much as you can about affiliate marketing.
And take the necessary steps, every day, to get you where you want to go.
Remember, NOTHING is impossible!
Have a wonderful day.
