How to Start an Affiliate Marketing Business: 12 StepsSell what you know. To start, you should stick to selling products or services that you’re familiar with. Online marketers call this process "picking your niche." You should select a niche that represents your current interests or your occupation.

• For example, if you’re an expert at interior decorating, it makes more sense to sell comforter sets than it does to sell automotive parts. You’ll do a much better job with your individual marketing efforts if you stick to selling what you know.

Start a website relevant to your niche. Before becoming an affiliate, many companies will want to know the URL of the website that you’ll use to sell their products. They do this because they want to ensure that the content on the website won’t hurt the company’s reputation.

• It’s easy to start a website these days thanks to sites like WordPress.com.[1]
• Be sure to add content to your website that isn’t "salesy." You want your site to come across as an authority in your niche.[2]

Research affiliate programs. Find an affiliate program that offers products or services in your niche.

• Amazon sells just about everything, so it’s likely that your niche includes products sold on Amazon. That’s a good place to start if you’re looking to get into affiliate marketing.[3]
• Commission Junction is another great option because it allows you to become an affiliate for countless companies that you already know about (e.g., Overstock, Office Depot, Boscov’s, and many others).[4]
• Clickbank is yet another option that many affiliate marketers like. That’s because the commissions from companies on that site can be very lucrative.[5]

Join an affiliate program. It’s almost always free of charge to join an affiliate program.

• In fact, if you’re being asked for a credit card number just to become an affiliate, you might be getting scammed. Most reputable companies that offer affiliate programs allow people to become affiliates free of charge.
• You will, however, be asked for bank account or PayPal information. Keep in mind, that’s not so that the company can take money away from you, but so that it can pay you the commission you earned with successful sales.
• You will be asked for the URL of your website in some cases. Just provide the URL of the website that you created above.

Add affiliate links in your content. One great way to get paid a commission without appearing to sell anything is add affiliate links within your content. That way, when people click on the link, they’re taken to the company site and, if they buy, you’ll earn a commission.[6]

• For example, if you’re writing about decor that includes purple comforters, make the phrase "purple comforters" a link to Amazon’s site that shows people only comforters that are offered in purple. Your readers can browse through Amazon’s offerings and maybe purchase an item that they like.
• Good news: Companies make it very easy to get links to their site. The way that you get those links varies from company to company, but it’s usually very easy to find a link to the product or products that you’re looking for.

Include visual ads in your sidebar. Your website, like most websites, probably has a sidebar. That’s a great place to include visual ads for products relevant to your niche.

• Once again, you’ll find that companies with affiliate programs make it very easy for you to obtain the images and links you need to get your visitors back to their sites. It’s almost always just as easy as copying and pasting code into your sidebar.

Continue producing content relevant to your niche. You want to keep people coming back to your website, don’t you? If so, then you need to keep on producing original content that’s of value to your visitors. That’s called "content marketing" by digital marketers.[7]

• Good content keeps visitors coming back. That means that they might eventually click on your affiliate links and purchase something.
• You can also use your content to include affiliate links as mentioned above. The more content you produce, the more affiliate links you have. The law of averages eventually kicks in and you’ll start selling.

Use analytics to measure your success. You can think of analytics as information about what you’re selling, how you sold it, and to whom you sold it. [8] Fortunately, most affiliate marketing sites offer helpful analytics so you can get an idea about what’s working well for you.

• If you find that one type of product sells well on your site, produce content that gives you the opportunity to market it even more.
• Use Google Analytics to gain an understanding of the demographics of your visitors. Tailor your content marketing efforts to people in that demographic.
• Pay attention to your posts that get the most visitors. If you find that some posts are getting significantly more hits than the others, consider adding additional affiliate links to them.
• Focus on what works, eliminate what doesn’t. The analytics provided by your company will tell you which types of ads are working and which ones aren’t. Use more of the ads that are working and eliminate the ones that aren’t.

Prepare for taxes. If you make money via affiliate marketing, you can be sure that you’re going to have to pay taxes on that income. At the beginning of each year, your partner companies should send you a 1099 tax form. If they don’t, you’re still required to report the income to the IRS.

• If you’re running your affiliate marketing business as a sole proprietor or LLC, you’ll report 1099 income on Schedule C - Profit or Loss from Business.[9]
• If you’re running your business as an S or C corporation, you’ll report the income on Schedule K-1.[10]

Expand your business. Your business is likely to do one of two things: expand or contract. That’s why you should always be striving for growth, otherwise your business will shrink and provide you with diminishing returns.

• Look for new products that you think you can market online. Browse through various affiliate sites. Look for new businesses that have recently welcomed affiliates and, if they’re offering something you think you can market well, partner up with them.
• Promote your business constantly online. Use social media, email, and other channels to promote your business so that people keep coming back and looking for great deals on the products and services that you’re marketing.

Delegate routine tasks. Once your business takes off, it’s time for you to focus on how to grow your business while delegating routine tasks to others. It will cost you some money in labor expense, but the investment is worth it if it allows you to come up with new ways to promote your affiliate marketing business and build it even further.
Automate what you can. There are plenty of digital marketing tools available.[11] Again, some of them will require you to make an investment, but if it gives you more free time to build your business, then the return on investment should be positive.

• Focus on creating a long-term strategy for your business while your tools and employees handle routine, day-to-day tasks. That way, you can handle "big picture" responsibilities to ensure that your business continues to grow.

How to Make Money as an Affiliate Marketer: 14 StepsDecide on a business model. There are two primary business models that prospective affiliate marketers choose between. The first is a resource site, and the second is a review site. Which model you choose will depend on your familiarity with the products or services you advertise.[1]

• Resource sites typically embed a merchant partner’s website in an affiliate link or banner advertisement within how-to articles and posts. This business model requires frequent updates and fresh content to ensure that customers return to the marketer’s website on a regular basis.[2]
• Review sites feature reviews of products/services that the marketer has tried and can attest for. Each product/service review includes a link or banner ad that will take customers to the merchant partner’s website. The advantage of review sites is that they require less frequent updates. Marketers simply have to make minor tweaks to their websites to ensure that search engines continue to list the website in their search results.[3]

Create a website. In order to work as an affiliate marketer, you’ll need your own platform (a personal website or blog) on which to post links and advertise for your chosen products or services. If you already have a website or blog, you can use that platform to begin earning additional income as an affiliate marketer. If you do not yet have a website or blog, you will need to create one.

• The advantage of a blog, such as Blogger, is that it’s free to operate, whereas some websites require a fee to operate. However, sites like GoDaddy.com and Hostgator offer website services that are relatively inexpensive to operate, and may look more professional than a personal blog.[4]
• Consider joining up with an affiliated marketing company. One easy way to enter the field of affiliate marketing is to join a company that specializes in online marketing. Though you’ll ultimately work independently, companies like MoreNiche allow aspiring affiliate marketers to join for free to have a platform for advertising products/services.[5]
• Some websites allow you to engage in pay-per-click affiliate marketing without running your own website or blog. Direct links through outside merchant websites allow you to create and make money off of ads without having to post them to your own website. For instance, you might make an ad for a dating website and advertise on Facebook; when someone clicks on your ad, they go straight to the dating site, instead of a website or landing page you have created.[6] Some affiliate networks that specialize in direct linking include Associate Programs, Affiliates Directory, E-commerce Guide, and Link Share.[7]

Select a niche. Most affiliate marketers choose a niche, or area of specialization. Before you begin marketing products or services, you’ll need to find an area you can easily work within to advertise.[8]

• Your niche doesn’t necessarily need to be an area you’re already an expert in. You can also choose a specialized area which you’re enthusiastic or interested in learning more about.Think of Oprah, she doesn’t market herself as an expert, but she frequently brings other experts on her show. You can do the same in your niche, by giving other experts a platform to promote themselves in exchange for content creation.[9]
• The initial startup work can be very intensive, so it’s important to choose a niche in which you won’t mind working for prolonged periods. This can help set you up for success as you get your new career off the ground.[10]

Choose products and services. Once you’ve chosen a niche in which to work, you’re ready to start finding products and services to promote on your platform. The products/services you choose to promote, as well as how much work you’ll have to put in, will vary depending on your chosen niche.[11]

• A company like Commission Junction is ideal for marketers who want to promote more traditional products/services. Commission Junction is involved in a diverse range of potential advertising opportunities, which may be ideal for newcomers to the field who haven’t narrowed down their niche yet.[12]
• Marketers interested in digital content, like e-books and software, may enjoy working with companies like Amazon, Clickbank, E-junkie, and PayDotCom.[13]
• Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing models like Google AdSense may appeal to some marketers. PPC models pay considerably less than other marketing models, but the advantage is that they require less active work of the marketer. The marketer’s pay is determined by how much web traffic is directed to the target site.[14]

Find and work with affiliates. Affiliates will help grow your business and help you tap into web traffic. There are many ways to meet and engage with affiliates, but the best way to access desirable affiliates is by building a reputation for yourself. You can do this by developing a popular blog or otherwise earning a large online following, or by becoming a published author of a book or article.[15] There are other ways of meeting affiliates, of course, and each method will vary in its success and required effort. Generally speaking, the basic course of action for acquiring affiliates typically involves one of the following methods:

• Emailing or otherwise contacting other bloggers and online marketers who share a common niche and asking them to either promote your product, or engaging in a mutually-beneficial cross-promotion wherein both you and the other blogger promote one another’s products[16]
• Finding successful affiliates online, either through forums, mutual contacts, or affiliate networks (such as Clickbank or Commission Junction) that you can join online[17]

Drive traffic to your affiliate program. Once you’ve built a popular platform and secured affiliates to work with, you’ll need to drive traffic to your affiliate program. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, but one of the easiest and most successful methods involves writing a blog post or web article and using your email newsletter to invite your subscribers to join the affiliate program of your choosing.[18] Other methods include:

• Giving away free content to other websites (which may drive traffic to your links)[19]
• Using viral marketing, like a link at the end of newsletters that allows readers to pass the newsletter on to other readers quickly and easily[20]
• Securing free links on websites that already drive a lot of traffic[21]

Study and learn from other affiliates. A quick and easy way to gain experience and familiarity as an affiliate marketer is by joining an online community or forum. These online resources are free to join and can offer invaluable advice to marketers at all experience levels.[22]

• Digital Point, aBestWeb, and Warrior Forum are excellent and free resources for affiliate marketers. In addition to advice from more experienced marketers, these forums also offer networking opportunities to connect with other marketers.[23]

Build relationships. Affiliate marketing takes a lot of work and patience before any real money is made. Affiliate marketing programs drive traffic to the affiliate marketer’s website, but the marketer is responsible for building lasting professional relationships with the affiliate partners out of that web traffic. The marketer must also continually seek out better partnerships with other affiliates.[24]

• Learn how your affiliate partners prefer to communicate. Every partner will have a different work schedule and communication preferences, and it falls on you to respect those preferences.[25]
• Know what your affiliates need and expect from you.[26]
• Brainstorm new ideas to pitch to your affiliates. You should do a substantial amount of research on your affiliates’ websites, and know how they can improve their websites and services.[27]
• Seek feedback from your affiliates on how you can improve your own platform.[28]

Attract targeted traffic. It’s not enough to get people to visit your website or blog. In order to generate money from your marketing platform, you’ll need to get people to click your affiliates’ links.[29] There are four primary methods of attracting potential customers:

• Paid advertising — this method requires an effective combination of ad copy, graphics, and a highly-clickable link.[30] Unlike more traditional affiliate marketing strategies, paid advertising (through pay-per-click ads) earn you money regardless of whether a reader buys the product or not. Services like Google’s AdSense make this quick and easy for you, and can even supply you with an advertising code.[31]
• Free advertising — this method involves placing links and advertisements on free websites, like Craigslist or US Free Ads. Whenever someone clicks on your ad, both you and the website (for example, Craigslist) earn money from the clicks.[32]
• Article marketing — this method seeks to gain a higher ranking in search engine results by establishing the marketer as a credible source that won’t use spam software.[33] Many marketers use websites like Ezine Articles to publish articles that contain a unique "resource box," and as other bloggers and website managers republish the article (with the resource box intact), the marketer who published the original article gradually earns higher search engine rankings.[34]
• Email marketing — in this method, marketers embed an email subscription option for website visitors. This allows the marketer to acquire a site visitor’s name and email address, which can help build a lasting relationship and expose the visitor to the marketer’s newsletter.[35] 9

Write a pay-per-click ad. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements are the bread and butter of affiliate marketing, but how well you craft your ad could be the difference between success and failure. A strong PPC ad should:

• Address a specific problem that consumers might be facing, and call attention to a solution or benefit that the product offers[36]
• Use a strong and specific keyword that will help drive traffic (for help choosing appropriate keywords, use Google’s free AdWords Keyword Tool)[37]
• Reflect the keywords used on the primary "landing" (linked-to) page[38]
• Work in an imperative or call to action to gently urge consumers to click through your link[39]

Aim for quality over quantity. Having a vast network of affiliates will not necessarily help you earn more money. According to some experts, the key to successful affiliate marketing is to find the right affiliates that will drive the most results for your platform. Those affiliates may be big sites, small sites, or a combination of the two, but the most important thing is to build and maintain strong relationships with your chosen affiliates.[40]
Expect a lot of hard work. Many people breaking into affiliate marketing expect to get rich quick. However, it takes a lot of work to get your affiliate marketing business off the ground, especially in the early stages. Some marketers work 12 hours each day, seven days a week as they try to launch and develop their platforms.[41]

• Keep in mind the field is very competitive and many marketing companies are run by professional marketers or large companies cable of spending large sums to attract traffic.

Learn how it works. An affiliate marketer embeds her own unique affiliate link in her web page or blog. This link does not have any impact on customers, and it does not alter the price of any products/services being offered by affiliates. However, any time the customer makes a purchase after clicking an affiliate link within a specified time frame, the marketer gets a commission from that sale. How much you earn will depend on each affiliate’s prices, commission percentages, and the number of sales you’re able to initiate on a weekly or monthly basis.[42]
Understand your demographics. Every affiliate will have their own target demographic. As the affiliate marketer, it’s your job to understand your affiliates’ demographics, and tailor your advertisements or reviews in such a way that that target demographic will be reached through your platform. Knowing, for example, the target demographic’s age, interests, and average income range, will help you tailor your reviews and advertisements to that demographic.[43]
3 Ways to Make Money With Affiliate Programs - wikiHowUnderstand affiliate marketing. Companies create affiliate programs to help push their products. When you become a program member—which is usually free—you can make links to promote the products on your website or another site. When people buy the products through your links, you will get a piece of the profits. As a member of an affiliate network, you can choose to promote any of several thousand products. It is possible to make up to 50–75% of the profit on each sale that results from your promotion.[1]
Know what sets each program apart. Affiliate programs are everywhere online, and it can be hard to tell them apart. Each program distinguishes itself by the products it sells. Some affiliate programs only require you to post links; others will ask you to pay money to learn about how to sell the product you are selling. As the latter type of affiliate, you can make commissions by getting others to pay—by bringing other marketers into the fold. Be wary, however, of any program that asks you to pay.[2]
Understand the usual pay models. There are a few ways that you can make money from online affiliate marketing:

• Cost-per-click: you get paid a very low amount every time someone clicks from your content onto the advertiser’s site. This is good for high-traffic content.
• Cost-per-lead: you get paid a low amount (but slightly more than cost-per-click) every time someone signs up or fills a form with the advertiser using a link from your content.
• Cost-per-acquisition: you get paid a fixed or percentage-based commission every time someone buys from the advertiser using a link from your content. Cost-per-acquisition marketing is good for focused, high-quality content.

Choose an affiliate program. First, you must decide which affiliate program to join. Affiliate programs often have a theme, such as gardening or weight loss, and you should find a theme that interests you. Look for a network with a lot of product codes that are relevant to your topic. Consider networks like Commission Junction, LinkShare, ShareaSale, Clickbank, and Amazon. Remember, it isn’t really about the network – it’s about whether the network is relevant to the content of your website.[3]
Research a topic or niche. Choose a popular trend or market – something that a lot of people are searching for, and something that a lot of online readers will find interesting (See Google Trends).[4]
Use the Google Keyword Research Tool to break down your chosen niche into more specific niches. Weight loss is a popular topic, but it is too broad. People want to lose weight for many reasons: vacations, weddings, summer, the new year, birthdays, and other special events. Choose a specific niche, such as "weight loss for summer" or "weight loss for weddings."[5]
Consider the search volume for your chosen topic. Find out how many people are searching for that topic by running a web search for, say, "quick weight loss." The quotes will make your search specific, so that the only results will be sites that mention the exact phrase "quick weight loss." Your search engine should list the number of search results that turn up for your query. Try to find a topic that turns up fewer than 5,000 results.
Create a website about the topic that you have chosen. The key to succeeding with affiliate programs is to build a content-rich website with useful information built around a specific theme. Don’t just lazily throw up a quick site or blog and string a bunch of affiliate links all over your pages. You have to start by building credibility, and the best way to do that is to write about something you know a lot about.

• If you know a lot about the newest smartphones and tech products, try setting up a site that reviews and catalogs new products.
• It’s also a good idea to own the products you promote so that you can appear more credible to your audience.

Find affiliate codes and paste them into your site. Once your site is well-established and respected for its content, you can begin to link out to affiliate programs. Search the various affiliate networks and look for products that relate to the theme of your website. Grab the affiliate code from your account and paste it into your site. As people visit your site and click these links, you can begin earning money from the referrals in your articles.[6]

• Mention products in your articles or blog posts, and use the affiliate code to link out to each product. Use your articles to subtly convince readers that these products or services are worthwhile. Do not sell too hard.
• Send out an email newsletter with product links. You can set up a pop-up that prompts visitors to your website to sign up for your newsletter.
• Avoid sending out spam. If you send out daily newsletters or aggressive messages, your emails may be flagged by spam filters, and your visitors may even unsubscribe.

Avoid hard-selling. The key is to subtly recommend products and services that fit in with what you are writing about in your content. If you try to market your affiliate products too aggressively, you may mar the credibility of your site.

• Try not to come off as a salesperson. Present yourself as a knowledgeable, trustworthy third-party reviewer. Readers can be wary of online marketing tactics, and they may be more likely to click links if they don’t think you’re trying to sell them anything. Let the interested folks click, and don’t force anyone to click on the ad.

Promote affiliate programs through article marketing. Write articles on a given product and find free places online to post them, such as review sites and article directories. Be sure to check if you are allowed to include an affiliate code link to the product you’re promoting. Some sites only allow you to link out to a non-commercial website.

• Use strategic keywords in your articles. Place links in the headline, the first few sentences, and throughout the body of the article to attract the search engines.
• Research long-tail keywords to target. If you are selling a weight-loss product, the phrase "weight loss" will pair you with tons of competition. Instead, break your topic down into more specific phrases like "lose weight in two weeks" or "lose weight for wedding."

Locate online communities relevant to the affiliate you are promoting. This might include forums, discussion boards, chat rooms, and blogs. Post often on the forum, and build a good reputation among the community members. Once people trust your judgment, you can start to include affiliate links in your posts. Do not simply spam the forums with product codes. You should sprinkle the affiliate links within genuinely useful content.

• Review member policies on every community website. Verify whether you are allowed to post affiliate links to a site. Some online communities may prohibit affiliate links and consider the links advertising spam.
• Review your account settings on every website. If you belong to a forum or discussion group that requires you to register for an account, you may be able to take advantage of a signature box in which you can post affiliate links. You can choose to display the signature box each time you reply to or write a post on the website.

Write an e-book on a topic that is related to your affiliates.[7] For example, if you team up with an affiliate that sells fitness equipment, you may want to write an e-book about different workout techniques that involve the fitness equipment. Embed affiliate links into sections of your e-book. For example, if your e-book is about fitness, you can write about the importance of wearing appropriate running shoes during your workout, then embed affiliate links for a specific brand of running shoes that you recommend to your readers.

• Choose a topic you are knowledgeable about. You may earn more from your affiliates if readers gain value from the information you are providing.
• Include affiliate banners and pictures within your e-book. Banners and pictures that contain affiliate links may catch the eye and draw clicks.

How to Learn Affiliate Marketing: 10 Steps (with Pictures)Try Udemy’s affiliate marketing courses if you want many options. Udemy offers a large range of marketing classes online, including several geared towards affiliate marketing. You can move through Udemy’s marketing courses at your own pace, and they’ll help you grasp the basics of affiliate marketing including partnering with companies, SEO, and increasing website traffic.[2]

• Navigate to the site and search “affiliate marketing” to see some of what they offer. You can also sort among the search results to find, for example, only those classes that have been rated 4.5 or higher.
• Get started on a class and learn more online at: https://www.udemy.com/course/clickbank-affiliate-marketing-success/. The course isn’t cheap—it costs about $200 USD—but it is frequently discounted to rates as low as $10.99.

Get a step-by-step walkthrough tutorial with Wealthy Affiliate. Wealthy Affiliate is a well-known and well-regarded affiliate marketing tutorial site that teaches you how to conduct research and grow your marketing practice. You can also take advantage of weekly online training webinars. The site will also put you in direct contact with a community of other beginner affiliate marketers, who you can ask questions and bounce ideas off of.[3]

• Learn more and set up either a free or premium account ($19 USD per month) online.
• A premium account gives you access to advanced-level series of courses and to live webinars that cover a variety of topics associated with affiliate marketing.

Check out the Affilorama courses for a popular free option. If you’d rather not pay to learn affiliate marketing, Affilorama may be your best bet. The site offers dozens of free video lessons on all aspects of affiliate marketing, as well as training blogs to help you learn. If you’d like access to more training content, the site offers 3 premium membership packages that offer advice on how to find a marketing niche, optimize your keywords, and use social media in your affiliate marketing practice.[4]

• Create an account online and start learning about affiliate marketing online at: https://www.affilorama.com/.

Talk to experienced affiliate marketers and ask for their advice. Affiliate marketing can have a steep learning curve and can feel tough to break into. Fortunately, there are many experienced marketers out there who may be willing to impart their tricks and tips to you. They’ll be able to teach you to select a marketing niche that can earn you money and to design your website to get as many visitors as possible.[5]

• If you don’t know any affiliate marketers, try finding some by searching for blogs that discuss topics you’re interested in. Then look for advertising links to companies’ products. If you see these links, you’ve found an affiliate marketer!
• Or, go directly to the companies themselves. Email a company of your choice and ask to be put in touch with any affiliate marketers they work with.
• When you reach out to affiliate marketers themselves, try having a professional but friendly tone. Email something like, “Hi, I see that you have done some affiliate marketing work with Patagonia! I’m interested in breaking into the affiliate marketing world as well, but don’t have much experience so far. Would you be willing to pass along any helpful tips you’ve picked up?”

Select a niche that you’re interested in. Affiliate marketing enterprises work best if you’re marketing for a product or company that you genuinely appreciate and have an interest in. Let’s say you love the outdoors, and often go on camping trips. Consider doing affiliate marketing for companies who make camping products, hiking boots, backpacks, or outdoor gear.[6]

• There are a huge number of niches you could look into. For example, you could look into doing affiliate marketing for companies who make musical instruments, snack foods and soft drinks, sporting goods and sports equipment, fishing equipment, literary publishers, office supplies, or mattresses and bedding.
• Beginning affiliate marketers who start out marketing for companies and products that they don’t care about typically lose interest quickly.

Build yourself a website if you don’t already have one. Affiliate marketing takes place online. If you’re new to web design and don’t want to tackle coding your own website, try building a website for free through one of the many no-cost website-building platforms like Wix, Weebly, or Wordpress. You could also use a blog site like BlogSpot as your platform to begin affiliate marketing.[7]

• If you already have a blog or website (something more official than a Tumblr), you can skip this step.

Post content online regularly and build up an email list. If you’re posting affiliate marketing links but nobody visits your website, you won’t make much of an income. The best way to draw new people to your website is by posting new, interesting content. Also offer an email newsletter that users can subscribe to for additional content! Don’t start doing any affiliate marketing until you have at least 500 email list subscribers.[8]

• Say that you run a blog called “The Camping Life,” about outdoor activities. You could post reviews of campsites and national parks, and send out a newsletter reviewing specific camping products that you’ve tried out.
• Depending on how frequently you post new content and send out emails and newsletters, it could take between 3–6 months to build up 500 subscribers.

Brush up on SEO to increase your web traffic. To be a successful affiliate marketer, you’ll need to bring as many viewers to your website as possible, to maximize the number of people who see your marketing content. For example, a great way to maximize your SEO is to include half a dozen keywords in your website copy. Then, when people search for these words in a search engine, your website will appear relatively high up in the search results. So, in our example, you’d want to use words like “camping,” “affordable,” and “backpacking” to draw in visitors.[9]

• There are great online articles about SEO that you can read to improve your know-how. You can also take free SEO training courses at Udemy and other sites.

Reach out to companies whose goods you’d like to market. Once you’re regularly producing content and have plenty of subscribers, it’s time to reach out to merchants with who you’d like to affiliate market. The best way to go about this is by sending an email to the director of their marketing or sales department, if you can find that information online. Explain that you run a popular website or blog devoted to a topic relevant to the company’s products. If the company agrees to take you on as an affiliate marketer, they’ll send you a specific URL that you can use to create ads on your website.[10]

• Let’s stick with our camping/outdoors example. You could try reaching out to backpacking and outdoor companies like REI, Patagonia, and North Face to see if they’ll take you on as an affiliate marketer.

Place the company’s URL on your site and in your newsletters. Take the unique URL that the company sent you, and position it prominently on your website or blog. It’s also a good idea to name-drop the company in your weekly newsletters and include the link there too. Try to ensure that the majority of your website’s visitors will see the link by positioning it near the top of your site and newsletter![11]

• For example, you could have copy on your website that says something like, “I went camping last weekend and my Eureka tent kept me warm and dry! Follow the link to see their great catalog of products.”
• Eventually, website users will start clicking through the advertisements and purchase products from the company you’re marketing for. At this point, the company will send you a commission check.

5 Ways to Become an Affiliate Marketer Without a Website - wikiHowLocate online communities relevant to the affiliate you are promoting. Examples of such communities are forums, discussion boards, chat rooms, and blogs.

• Perform an Internet search using keywords such as "forum" or "discussion board" with the subject of the affiliates you are promoting. For example, if you are promoting exercise equipment, search for "exercise forum" or "fitness forum."

Actively participate in each online community. This practice may help boost your affiliate income when members begin to view you as an active, trusted presence on each website.[1]

• Engage in discussions and participate in online events on a daily or weekly basis. You can also start discussions about topics that are relevant to the products you are promoting through the affiliate links.

Review member policies on every community website. This procedure will allow you to verify if you are allowed to post affiliate links to these sites. Some online communities may prohibit affiliate links and consider the links as advertising spam.
Review your account settings on every website. If you belong to a forum or discussion group that requires you to register for an account, you may be able to take advantage of a signature box in which you can post affiliate links. The signature box can then be displayed each time you reply to or write a post on the website.[2]
Choose an e-book topic that is related to your affiliates. For example, if you team up with an affiliate that sells fitness equipment, you may want to write an e-book about different workout techniques that involve the fitness equipment.

• Choose a topic you are knowledgeable about. You may earn more from your affiliates if readers gain value from the information you are providing.

Embed affiliate links into sections of your e-book. For example, if your e-book is about fitness, you can write about the importance of wearing appropriate running shoes during your workout, then embed affiliate links for a specific brand of running shoes that you recommend to your readers.

• Include affiliate banners and pictures within your e-book. Banners and pictures that contain affiliate links may aesthetically enhance the presentation of information within your e-book.

Write articles about the affiliate products you are promoting. Readers are more likely to click on affiliate links within articles that contain information that can benefit them; as opposed to links within promotional emails written specifically for the sake of advertising.[3]
Place affiliate links throughout the body of the article. For example, if you are marketing video games or video game systems, you can write an article about the best sporting games available on the market. You can then place affiliate links for each video game within each summary that describes each game.
Send the email to your customers. Your customers may be actual clients, or they can be friends, family, or members of an online community you belong to. For example, if you have a brick-and-mortar used video game business, you can encourage your customers to provide you with their email addresses so you can send them emails.
Join websites that allow you to contribute content. A variety of websites exist that allow you to register for an account and contribute articles or reviews on many topics.

• Perform an Internet search using keywords such as "article directory" to locate free websites that will allow you to publish articles.
• Search for article or review websites that cater specifically to your affiliate niche. For example, if you want to promote affiliates that sell books, you can search for book review websites that allow you to post affiliate links next to your own book reviews.

Review the policies of each website you join. Some websites may limit the amount of affiliate links you can place into each article.[4]
Write reviews or articles related to your affiliates. Internet users who land on your article page may be searching for information or products that they want or need.[5]
Embed the affiliate links into your articles before publication. Visitors to the article website will then have the opportunity to click on the affiliate links within your articles.
How to Make Money With Amazon Affiliate Program (with Pictures)Begin an online effort. The best Amazon Affiliates are bloggers or websites that add links to Amazon along with quality content on their own site.[1] Consider starting one of the following online sites:[2]

• Start a free online blog using Blogger, WordPress or a similar site. Since you start these blogs for free, the cost is only the time you spend designing and adding content. Choose something on which you are passionate so that you can add interesting content and develop followers.
• Set up a website. Professional or business websites can also use the Affiliate program. However, they are best used with people who do not sell similar products on their website, since Amazon’s marketplace can drive business away. If you have a website promoting different products, a club, a non-profit or a service, then you can recommend quality products on your site and make money doing it.
• Set up social media accounts for your blog or site. This is a great way to improve search engine ranking, stay in touch with your readers and increase the amount of links that you share. You can post Amazon links on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn when you want to make a recommendation.

Post quality content consistently. You garner readers by the value of your content, so post at least once per week on your blog/website.
Gain loyalty. People who think they are being pitched to are unlikely to return. Include affiliate links as recommendations, best of lists and preferred vendors, rather than an obvious pitch to make money off readers.

• The more fun you have with posting links, the more likely you are to get sales. For example, you may want to post a best-of blog for the year’s most innovative new products or the best non-fiction books of the year. You can include links to Amazon products and people will use the link as a reference and as a way to buy.

Go to affiliate-program.amazon.com. Read through the information carefully before signing up. You should understand what products are eligible, how to post and how to get paid before starting an account.[3]

• Amazon Affiliates rewards advertising fees, or commissions, that vary depending upon the type of product.[4] Your advertising fees can also increase after you start to refer more than 6 purchases every month.

Click on the "Join Now for Free" button when you are ready to start.[5]
Sign in using your Amazon username and password. Select your official payment address from a list or input it at this time.
Fill out the information about your website, web traffic and online monetization. You will be asked to enter all of the sites you will use to post Amazon links. Verify your identity before continuing.[6]
Start looking through products on Amazon’s Associates Central.
Choose a few products to integrate into your blog posts.[7] It is a good idea to use the "Bestseller" filter to find the bestselling products in any category.
Post the link inside your website. You can choose to post an image, an image and text or a text link, depending upon how you want it to look.[8]
Use the Amazon Associates site stripe, the toolbar at the top of the page, to capture links for products you want to post.
Optimize your earnings by posting links regularly.[9] This means that you should look for creative ways to incorporate product recommendations into your blog posts while still letting the reader know you are offering them expertise on your website subject.[10]

• Amazon Affiliate links, once clicked on by a potential buyer, are active for 24 hours. This means that they expire for that particular user after 24 hours. Fresh links means new chances to earn money.

Build links to many different types of products over time. Amazon pays you an advertising fee based on the entire purchase that the person makes, not just the product you advertised.

• The important thing is getting to people to Amazon using their link, so that they can make all the purchases they have been waiting to make using your referral link.

Use your referral link when sending information via email or to family members. You can receive commission on anyone’s purchase, except your own, if they use the referral link within 24 hours.

• Trade Amazon Associates referral links with a friend or family member. Make your own purchases using their link, so that they can reap some benefits and ask them to do the same. Although this is not likely to be your main way of making money, it can improve your commission structure at times.

Add widgets to your site. Amazon Associates has widgets and online stores that you can add to your website template. List several recommended products in your sidebar.[11]
Advertise products over $100. The more expensive the product your reader buys, the more commission you will make, so make sure you recommend higher priced products with good value.
Use lists. Most online stores keep lists of popular products. Make your own recommendation lists every month or quarter on a new topic, because they are valuable to you and your readers.
Post seasonal content with Amazon Associate links. People buy more near Christmas, so post recommended products before Thanksgiving to take advantage of sales that Amazon is going to make anyway.

• If you haven’t started creating a seasonal schedule for your blog posts and marketing, start now. There are dozens of holidays, such as Halloween, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day and Valentine’s Day that can produce more sales, if the advice and links are timely and interesting.

Optimize your blog or website. Adopt search engine optimization practices, such as keyword density, short URLs, and backlinks to increase web traffic to your site. The more people who read, the more clicks you will have on your Amazon Associates links.
3 Ways to Become a Jewelry Affiliate - wikiHowSet up your website or blog. If you do not already have a website, you will need to start one. Affiliate programs work through advertisements, referral links, and reviews posted on websites. Create a website that is either about jewelry or about topics related to jewelry, such fashion, gifts, or romance.[1]
Decide what type of jewelry you will promote. You will need to determine what type of jewelry your website’s audience will be most likely to buy. Consider the age, gender, lifestyle, and income brackets of your readers. Then try to find a few companies that fit that demographic.[2]

• If your blog is about crafts, do-it-yourself lifestyles, or natural living, you might want to promote handmade jewelry.
• If your website is about romance or weddings, you might promote engagement rings, heart-shaped pendants, or push presents.
• If your readers are interested in trendy jewelry, research what the latest styles and fads are.

Determine if you want to work with individual companies or a network. If you have a brand in mind, you can apply directly through their website. If you’re not sure about what type of jewelry you want to promote, you can work with an affiliate network like CJ Affiliate or ShareASale instead.[3]

• An individual company usually offers better commissions, but they will have a limited variety of jewelry to work with.
• A network will represent a variety of brands. They may also let you promote products other than just jewelry. Networks may have lower commissions.

Pick a quality jeweler that you trust. Start with brands whose jewelry you already wear. Read reviews to make sure they don’t have many complaints about quality or customer service. While you won’t be held liable, your website could get a bad reputation if it promotes a low quality company.[4]

• It is a good idea to only promote jewelry that you have tested and worn yourself. This will let you be certain of its quality so that you can write honest reviews.

Compare the commissions at various companies. Commission rates generally vary between 4% and 12% of the product’s cost.[5] Some retailers may increase the commission for more expensive items, or they may have tiers where high-selling affiliates earn more than low-selling ones.[6]

• Most of the time, the commission rate will be posted on the brand’s website. If it isn’t, contact their marketing department to ask.
• Consider how much the jewelry costs when factoring in the commission. You may earn more money on a more expensive item than a cheaper item, even if the commission is slightly lower.

Follow the guidelines on their website. In most cases, you will have to fill out an application online through the company’s website. They may want your contact information, website, and details about how you will promote their product.[7]

• You can search for this page on their website by looking for a link that says "Affiliate Program" or "Become an Affiliate."

Read their contract thoroughly. Either during or after the application process, you will be sent a list of terms that you must agree to before becoming an affiliate. Read through it carefully to understand what you can and cannot do as an affiliate.

• Some companies may not allow you to promote their competitor’s jewelry on your website.

Add banners and links for the jewelry to your website. Once you are approved, you will receive a special link to post on your blog. In some cases, you may even get an HTML code for a banner. When people click this link and buy the product, you will earn a commission.[8]

• Posting the link is the most important part. If you readers buy the item without clicking the link, you will not earn a commission.
• Some companies will count any purchase made by your readers within 30 days of them clicking on your link.

Write a review of the product. Choose a particular piece of jewelry to review from their collection. Write about its quality, construction, and style. Include pictures of the jewelry. Always remember to post the affiliate link in your reviews so that your readers can purchase it after reading your glowing praise.[9]

• Remember to state whether you recommend the product or not. For example, you can say, "If you want a trendy summer necklace, I highly recommend this statement piece from ABC jewelry."
• Always be honest in your reviews. If something is poorly made, say so. This will build trust in your readers, and they will be more likely to believe your positive reviews.

Choose only a few good brands to represent. Too many products advertised on your website might overwhelm your readers. It is best to stick with a few trusted brands to advertise at any one time.[10]
Increase traffic at your site. As you join affiliate programs, try to attract new readers by promoting your website. The best way to do this is to provide engaging content that keep them coming back for more. You can also:[11]

• Collect emails to create a mailing list, which you can use to update your readers on new articles. You can also use emails to promote affiliate links.
• Attract new traffic with ads on social media or post links to your reviews on your social media page.
• Become a guest blogger on another website devoted to jewelry. Post your website’s URL at the end of the article to bring in new readers.

Create interesting and diverse content. Reviews are not the only type of content you can create to encourage people to buy from your affiliates. Try coming up with different types of articles and content that promotes their products.[12]

• You can compare different types of jewelry to help readers make a decision. For example, you might write: “Gold versus silver: the pros and cons.”
• Try making top ten lists. For example, you might write, “The Ten Best Necklaces to Wear to Work” or “The Top Ten Wedding Rings.”
• You don’t just have to write articles either. Videos are a great way of showing off jewelry while bringing in new viewers.

Track your sales. Most affiliate programs will let you see how well you are selling certain products. This service will usually be offered through your affiliate portal on their website. See which types of products are selling the best. In the future, you might want to focus more on those types.[13]

• For example, if you find that you are not selling as much high-end jewelry, you might want to focus more on moderately priced jewelry.
• If you’re selling many charm bracelets, you might focus some of your content on unique and special charms.
• If a certain brand is not attracting buyers, you might want to drop it.