I’ve been reading a book on creating your own side hustle. One of the things that I notice about this book is that it often refers to affiliate marketing. Not only are you creating a product but you are promoting a product through affiliate marketing.

It seems to me that affiliate marketing is becoming a part of everyday life. But not everyone knows how it is done. There are even some people that don’t understand what affiliate marketing is all about.

I’ve been doing affiliate marketing for years, but when I started out I had no idea what it was. There are still people that I talk to who ask me “what is affiliate marketing?” They’ve never been exposed to the concept of affiliate marketing. They don’t know that they can actually earn money with their websites using this process.

What is Affiliate Marketing and Does It Work?

Affiliate marketing is the process used to promote other people’s products and earn a commission in the process.

Affiliate Marketing Steps

In its most basic form you will form an association with a product manufacturer or someone that creates a course or perhaps an e-book, then you will promote this product to your website audience. You add a link to your website that’s provided from the manufacturer of the product. The link contains a tracking link (often called a cookie). This tracking link will identify you as the owner of the link to the manufacturer when a sale is completed for the product the manufacturer will send you a commission based on that sale.

When people get started online they think they can make instant income. I know where this mindset comes from. There are hundreds of dubious websites talking about instant huge incomes. Most of these are out for themselves and just wish to sell you their product. As you get a bit more educated, you will be able to spot these scammers easily.

One of the reasons that these dubious sites work is that they market to your dream. I’m here to tell you your dream can be a reality. It’s not going to happen instantly it takes work. But you can make at least a side income and, in many cases, you can make a full-time income using the affiliate marketing model.

One of the largest affiliate networks is Amazon. I’m sure you’ve heard of them. There are many people out there making a full-time income just from promoting Amazon products. There are many other large stores that have affiliate programs as well. Home Depot and Walmart are two of the notables. You can make affiliate income from pretty much any interest that you have.

It does work but don’t expect instant results.

Can You Make Money by Affiliate Marketing?

As I mentioned above, I’ve recently picked up Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 days.  You might decide while you are reading this that you want this book.  Guess what?  I’ll get a small commission if you click on the link and buy the book from Amazon.

I won’t get a huge amount of money, probably in the neighborhood of 4 cents.  The point is, that you can create a site that has multiple links each generating a commission when people buy.  If you get enough interested people the commissions will grow.  You can also find more expensive items with higher commission rates that will grow your income.

Ultimately, the information that you provide to your readers can provide you with a tidy income. The best part, you create your informational posts once and they will generate income well into the future.

Why is Affiliate Marketing the Best Way to Earn Extra Income?

1. Affiliate accounts are free

It shouldn’t cost you anything to sign up for an affiliate account.  Occasionally you will find a place that wants to charge you to become an affiliate.  Just choose another program.  Anyplace that wants to charge you for working for them is probably not on the up and up.

2. Create your content once, get paid many times.

Each visitor to your site that reads your posts is a potential customer.  If you are providing them with the information they want, you have a good chance to sell your promoted product to many different customers.

3. Can be done in your spare time.

You might be working a full-time job and still need to add a bit more spending money to your income.  If you have a couple of hours where you are vegetating in front of the TV, why not build a side income.  You can even do it from your couch if you want (although I recommend a quiet place where you can focus).

4. Helps you to narrow down your audience.

The best way to see if you are reaching an audience is to see what they are buying.  Affiliate programs track what is purchased.  This creates a great way to see what your readers really want.  Then you can adjust your focus to help them better.

5. Gives you an inexpensive way to validate your idea.

The creation of a website allows you to reach an audience of people that have similar interests.  You are able, for a small investment to fine-tune your focus to give your audience what they need.  You can try different approaches and determine how well the audience reacts to your information.  You may find that your idea falls on deaf ears, or you may find a goldmine.  In either case, you will be able to get a feel for how your audience is behaving.

6. No shipping charges and no inventory.

Affiliate marketing doesn’t require you to carry inventory.  You take orders for the companies that you represent, they hold the inventory and ship the product.  You receive the commission.  It is a win-win situation.  The vendor wins because they have low-cost advertising, the consumer wins because they get the product that best suits their need and you win by earning income from your writing.  One piece of content can pay you over and over again for a long period of time with many commissions coming in.

 Create Your Own Online Affiliate Marketing Business

Seven years ago I joined an online marketing group called Wealthy Affiliate.  I have learned how to create a viable online business that provides me with a steady income.  You can learn to do this too.

You may be experienced online or a complete novice, Wealthy Affiliate will help you to learn how to create and market your website.  You will have access to all the tools and training that you need to create your own online Affiliate Marketing business.

There is a vast community of entrepreneurs that are more than willing to help you through any difficulties that you have while learning.  You even have access to the owners of the site.  This is almost unheard of online.

You can join with a free membership and see what Wealthy Affiliate is all about.  When you have finished the initial training, you can choose to upgrade and get full access to all of the training or continue as a Starter member with limited access.

The most important thing for you to do is to start learning.  You can get started easily.

Just Start!

Start Building Your Own Online Business

 

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