This is the beginners guide to affiliate marketing and it’s written for newbies who’ve never tried making money online through the affiliate marketing method. I’ve kept it as basic as possible so that even my Mother, who’s a technophobe, can understand it. And if my Mom can understand it then I know I’ve done a good job of explaining the process. Are you ready, Mom? Let’s roll, shall we?
In this affiliate marketing for beginners guide, you’re going to see how simple the process of making money is with a basic website and you’re going to also understand how easy it is when you’ve got the basics imprinted on your memory. I’ve broken the whole process down into a few basic components.
How to Start Affiliate Marketing for Dummies with a Free Website
You can actually get a free website from Wealthy Affiliate which includes a lot of how to start affiliate marketing for dummies training. You can’t go wrong and you can’t get scammed if it’s free, can you? Click the link below to read all about it.
Can You Become an Affiliate Marketer?
Absolutely, you can. Anyone who wants to make money online can try affiliate marketing and it’s not such a scary thing to do, even when you’ve never made a penny online before. The start-up costs are minimal, which is a big benefit.
You don’t need your own products and you don’t need a place to store products. You’ve possibly heard of people making 6 figures and 7 figures online and it’s absolutely true.
But let’s not get carried away, those kinds of numbers take a lot of work, especially when you’re a beginner. Learning affiliate marketing can be overwhelming if you don’t have the proper steps and you’re always bombarded with what are known as “shiny objects” which will confuse you and slow you down.
You need a plan, and you need a plan that has been tried and tested by those who’ve walked the walk before. Too many online gurus will take your money for products and services that claim to help you to make money online with affiliate marketing.
STOP!
Stop right now, if you’re continually suckered into these push-button schemes that claim you’re going to be rich overnight. It’s not going to happen, ever. So, you might as well learn the right way.
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What is Affiliate Marketing, Exactly?
I want you to picture a scenario where you're talking to one of your friends, or a family member and you're telling them about this cool new gadget you've just bought.
I want you to imagine that you love this gadget and you want to recommend to your friend that he or she gets one, too.
Your friend is interested and takes a look at the awesome gadget you've got, let's say for the purposes of this explanation that it's a new mobile phone.
So, you're telling your friend how amazing the phone is, what it can do, how much it cost you and where you bought it.
Congratulations, that is the basics of affiliate marketing in a nutshell. The only difference is you're not going to receive a commission for telling your friend about the new phone you've got and you're not telling your friend online, rather, you're telling him or her in person.
And so, your friend decides that he or she really must have this same phone and decides to run off to the place you told them to buy it.
If you were to go through this process on the internet you could make a commission if you'd written all about that fantastic new phone on your website. Additionally, don't fall for online scams such as The Zero Loss Formula, which is something I wrote a scathing review about here. There are thousands of online scams.
What Are The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing?
- The Start-Up Costs Are Low, Many Times Free
- You Don't Have to Store Products
- Work From Home is Possible
- You Can Work Anywhere with an Internet Connection
- What Work You Do is Up to You, Not a Boss!
- You Decide When You Work
- Affiliate Marketing Can Be Very Profitable When You Do it Right
- Once You're Good at Affiliate Marketing, You Can Fire Your Boss!
What is The Downside to Affiliate Marketing?
- It Takes Time for a Website to Gain Authority
- You Have to Learn New Stuff, Like Keyword Research
- It takes Determination and Will Power to Keep Going
- You Have to Research Products You Want to Promote
- You Have to Create Content (blog posts, videos, adding images)
Affiliate Marketing for Newbies Can be Simple!
Affiliate marketing for newbies is easy with the right training and mindset. But hold on a minute, because there is a little more to it than that.
Let me explain in more detail how it happens online, rather than offline. A random website cannot just be built to get commissions for selling random products on it. You have to become very specific.
You have to choose a niche!
What is a Niche?
A niche is a topic that's been narrowed down. It's a target audience. Remember that mobile phone? Well, it just so happens that "not everyone" in the world is interested in mobile telephones. You need to create a website (which is easy, by the way) that is in the mobile devices niche.
Let's say for the sake of simplicity that you choose a website name of "coolmobilephonereviews dotcom." The picture in your mind is now forming. One of the first steps to getting up and running with affiliate marketing is to choose a niche.
But wait...there's more... 😉
I've Got My Website, What Now?
Next, you need to write reviews on mobile phones. In these reviews, you can recommend specific phones and list the benefits and drawbacks of them.
You give details on the specifications of the phone, what it can do, how much it costs, and where you can buy it. Amazon is a good example for this. Amazon has what is known as an affiliate program.
What is an Affiliate Program?
An affiliate program is designed so that people can join it (for free) and choose products to promote on their websites.
When someone goes to that website and clicks on an affiliate link, they are taken to Amazon (in this example) to look at the phone and decide whether they want to buy it or not.
Amazon knows it is you because the affiliate link tells them you've sent them there. You will receive a commission for sending people to Amazon to buy something.
Remember, Amazon has gazillions of products. Imagine how many different types of "niche sites" there are on the internet that are promoting Amazon's products.
The number is staggering. And that is just Amazon. There are thousands of other affiliate programs on the internet, such as Clickbank and JVZoo.
Some products are physical products, things you can touch and pick up. But there are also what are known as digital products.
What is a Digital Product?
A digital product, for example, is an e-book. You've heard of Kindle books, right? Well, they're digital and you can download those on the internet almost instantly when you've paid for one.
Of course, you can buy these ebooks for your Kindle device (an e-book reader) which, incidentally, is also a product (physical) that you can buy at Amazon.
Okay, What's Next?
Now you've chosen your niche and you've chosen your product(s) to promote. What's next, then? Well, you need to now write content on your website about that particular product.
It could be a review of the apple iPhone 7, or 8 or it could be a review of Samsung's newest Galaxy model.
People Visit Your Website
Next, people will visit your website (like you're visiting my site now) and they will read all about that awesome phone they're interested in buying. You tell them all about it and whether it's a good thing to buy or not.
Anyone who is convinced enough that it's a good phone (from what you've written) will likely click on your "affiliate link" and be taken over to Amazon to buy the phone you've recommended.
Ka-Ching! You Just Made a Sale!
When your website visitor buys the product you've recommended, Amazon knows it is you who sent them there to buy.
Amazon is happy to give you a commission for sending the person to their "store" and they wouldn't have had that new customer if it wasn't for you recommending the phone in the first place.
The Steps Required for Affiliate Marketing (in a Nut-Shell)
- Choose Your Niche
- Choose a Domain Name (Website Name)
- Decide on Which Affiliate Program to Join (Amazon, for Example)
- Choose What Products to Promote
- Write an Article (Blog Post) About the Product
- Get Your Affiliate Link and Place it in Your Article
- Get Visitors to Your Site
- Earn Revenues (Commissions)
Where Can You Learn to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing?
You learn the ins and outs of affiliate marketing at Wealthy Affiliate which will teach how it's all done from scratch. It's for beginners to advanced.
I learned all I know about building websites and blogging for commissions there. And if I can learn it then I believe that even my Mom can learn it, too...
But she's still a technophobe, I'm afraid. Right, Mom? (Mom just nodded "yes") To get a free account and learn the basics of affiliate marketing click on the big red button you can see strewn all over this blog post which links to my Wealthy Affiliate review on another page.
Get going today with your own little business venture. It's easier than you think it is, even my Mom could do it, right Mom? She just said "nope" lol. But I know she could if she wanted to.
Get Step by Step Affiliate Marketing for Beginners Training at Wealthy Affiliate
The Conclusion
Affiliate marketing, while being a simple process, isn't for everyone. There's a lot of initial groundwork involved with setting up your site, finding affiliate programs and writing blog posts before you start getting your first commissions.
My Mom isn't into it at all, although she has the capabilities. Just because she could do affiliate marketing it doesn't necessarily mean she would want to do it.
Once you get your head around all that is required, there is nothing in the world that can stop you from becoming a successful affiliate marketer.
Likewise, there's nothing to stop you from quitting before you make a breakthrough and all the pieces finally fit together.
Too many affiliate marketers quit because of impatience and not having the right training. Too many quit because of shiny object syndrome and its propensity to throw people off course.
What Should You Do Now?
Simply click on the big red button and go read my review about Wealthy Affiliate and see if it's for you. It's free to join, by the way, and you don't need anything other than your email address to get in.
Remember, making money online legitimately is not a get rich quick scheme. It takes time to see good results.
This is the reason most people who quit trying internet marketing fail miserably. They're just not patient and determined enough. The right mindset is vital.
Wrapping Up
I'm Jim, Thanks for reading the beginners guide to affiliate marketing. I hope to see you again and it would be really great to connect with you inside Wealthy Affiliate after you sign in.
The Beginners Guide to Affiliate Marketing - Start for Free at Wealthy Affiliate
Thanks for reading the beginners guide to affiliate marketing. I hope to see you again and it would be really great to connect with you inside Wealthy Affiliate after you create a free starter account.
If you have any questions about affiliate marketing or the Wealthy Affiliate, leave them in the comments below and I promise to reply to all of them.
Do you know of any better way to make money online than the affiliate marketing model?
Want to See The #1 Recommended Training That Shows You How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing?
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Share this article with your friends so that they can also benefit. Thanks!
To read more about Jim, click here.
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away… Jim got a chronic case of sciatica and lost his job. However, Jim used this opportunity to learn how to build websites with WordPress and then to make money online. Jim wants to help you do the same, while helping you to avoid the plethora of scams. Let Jim help you earn your first $1000 online from home. Cheers and see you soon!
Hi James, I have also heard about Lancehop.com. Can you please throw a light on that program too? Is it Legit or scam?
Nice to see you again, Arooj!
I’ve never heard of lancehop but I will take a look into it and let you know when I see what it’s all about.
Thanks for dropping in,
Jimbo
The only thing that is difficult about affiliate marketing is that it takes time. The person doing the marketing is the only thing that can get in your way. As long as you have the determination to see it through until your site becomes authoritative you will be a huge success. Great job breaking affiliate marketing down!
Hey there, Nathan.
Thanks for dropping by today.
If you have any questions, let me know below.
If you have any advice for our readers, leave that here, too.
All the best,
Jimbo
What an awesome review of the affiliate marketing! But it is so easy. I used to be like your mom lol Newbie, technophobe, refusing even to think about this, but then, I realized that I could practice my English, writing and creativity by creating a blog and talking about something I like. Then affiliate marketing completely fits in this entire work 🙂 Why not to promote what I like too when I can earn some income from that too?!
So, James mom, say YES to the affiliate marketing and write about your biggest passion and you’ll start making a revenue for the vacation of your dreams 🙂
Best,
Sunny
The basic principles are indeed very easy. You make website, you make content about a specific topic, you get visitors and they hopefully trust your recommendation to buy something or sign up.
The most difficult part is the time it takes to build authority, which puts people off. It isn’t a get rich quick thing, as they don’t really exist.
But I look at it like this…
How fast did the last month go past you? You could create 30 high quality blog posts in that time. Multiply that by one year and that’s 365 posts. A year goes by really quick and if you’ve got even 100 posts you’re going to start experiencing traction, google is going to trust your site more, and success is kind of inevitable.
If you stick to the training at https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/createaccount/videohomepage
You might see heaps of success and it will feel like you’ve won the lottery, EVERY MONTH!
Thanks sunny.
A solid step by step guide here thanks Jimbo. Do you know of any other programs other than Wealthy Affiliate where you can be taught these skills? ps I look forward to your Mums first Guest Blog
Hi there, Timothy.
Thanks for visiting.
Well, there’s something called affilorama, but I’ve read many reviews about it and it seems to get about 80% on average for ratings. Some of the training there, I read, is outdated. I don’t think affilorama gives as many tools as Wealthy Affiliate does. WA has everything, almost, that you need for an online business, including hosting, keyword tool, support, business community, webinars, training coursed laid out with tasks to complete before you move on. There is also the sitecomments, site feedback, and now, you can even buy dot com domains there. Soon, Wealthy Affiliate are to install SSL certificates on all sites hosted there, so another big benefit for members. WA are always adding stuff to the mix and things just get better by the day.
Thanks for commenting, Tim
Jimbo