How to become an affiliate?

Select a platform

There are different choices of platforms to start your journey in the world of affiliate marketing.

The most obvious, because it is easy to create and inexpensive, is the blog.

Moreover, as the blog is a very widespread tool, you will find on the web an infinity of tutorials and advice on how to create one and manage its contents.

This is a perfect choice for those of you who like to write product reviews or do product comparisons in a professional manner, for example.

Above all, the creation and management of a blog cost a few euros per month, depending on the internet service provider you choose.

Once you start your blog, remember to post content regularly and optimize it for search engines to rank higher.

YouTube is also a big player for affiliate marketing in 2022.

Like a blog, a YouTube channel and the content that goes with it can be created inexpensively, and it's a go-to platform today.

All you need is a good camera, quality SEO-optimized content, and adding your affiliate links in the description.

Finally, Instagram is necessarily a tool to take into account. The community present on this social network is very active. It will allow you to grow quickly and promote your links to a larger and larger audience.

However, regardless of the platform you choose to use, you should definitely make it clear that the links you provide are affiliate links.

Choose your niche

The next fundamental step is to find a niche, which is no small feat.

For what ? Because of competition.

There are thus several million blogs in France alone

It is therefore essential that you find a niche topic, because by focusing your blog on a specific theme, you are more likely to attract a targeted audience, and this is also an important factor in the eyes of the main search engines. .

For example, we do not recommend choosing a theme that is too broad, such as “marketing”.

Instead, opt for a more targeted and specific topic like "Inbound Marketing" or "Marketing for eCommerce."

Finally, and this is probably the most important, you must choose a subject that you are passionate about and familiar with, especially if you are the person in charge of creating the content.

It is the combination of your passion and your expertise on the subject of your choice that will allow you to generate commitment.

In this way, the promotion of the products for which you are affiliated will be done in a natural way and will go well in the eyes of your audience.

If you decide to use the services of a service provider to create your content, select experts to obtain content with high added value.

Select and join an affiliate program

There are different types of affiliate programs, which can be broadly categorized into three species:

• Low-paying affiliate programs aimed at the general public: These generally concern products of relatively low value. The affiliate program of Amazon, the e-commerce giant founded by Jeff Bezos, is the perfect illustration of this.
• High-paying affiliate programs with a limited number of potential customers: these are programs with more competition, and which, in most cases, concern niche products or services.
• High Return Consumer Affiliate Programs: These types of programs are designed for affiliates who have a high degree of expertise in affiliate marketing.
• To take advantage of such affiliate programs, you can join an affiliate network or platform.

You can think of these affiliate platforms as intermediaries between businesses and affiliate marketers. They aim to make money for both parties, and for themselves, of course.

Here is a list of popular affiliate networks:

• Clickbank
• MyLead
• Casaneo
• ShareASale
• CJ Affiliate
• Affiliation
• Target Affiliates
• Amazon
• Awin

By using an affiliate network, you will benefit from relevant data that will help you select the best products to promote based on your expertise.

You can also try approaching companies whose products you want to promote, even if they don't seem to have an affiliate program.

For the selection of your affiliate program in these networks, it is mainly your level of expertise and your niche that matters.

If you're targeting the big consumer, you need to start with low-paying, high-volume programs.

If you're targeting a professional audience, well-paying programs such as SaaS software or web hosting solutions are impeccable.

Create quality content

Then, the next stage of the process brings us to the creation of the content in which the affiliate link will appear.

It should be of high quality and aim to attract leads organically.

There are different types of content you can use, the most common being blog posts and videos, as mentioned above.

To be sure to create relevant content, you must ensure that it helps those who will read it to solve their problems, or their "pain points".

Also make sure to place your affiliate links in the best possible place where they are likely to get maximum exposure.

Most affiliate professionals adopt the following strategy: promote affiliate products at the beginning of the content, ie when the attention of your audience is maximum. This will greatly increase the click through rates on your affiliate links.

Here's an example to illustrate our point: if you're using blog posts, promote the affiliate product in the first quarter of your content. In the case of a video, make sure it gets done from the first minute.

Generate traffic and grow your audience

Once you have created a minimum of content, the most important thing is to do: expose it to an audience and get clicks on your affiliate links.

Here are the 3 main strategies you can put in place to attract traffic to your affiliate links on your website, blog or on your social networks:

1- Natural referencing/SEO

Natural referencing or SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an essential tool for acquiring organic traffic.

How ? By targeting specific keywords people search for and creating content around those keywords and related topics. This is how you will get consistent traffic.

Also invest your time in link building to increase your search engine rankings.

2- Create mailing lists

Thanks to this strategy, you will complete your SEO action.

Email is still considered one of the best marketing channels today.

It allows you to reach your target audience and keep them coming back constantly when used with finesse.

To build your mailing list, you must first persuade your audience to provide you with an email address.

This can be done in a smart way, for example by offering them valuable consideration (free course, an e-book, etc.), and by using a pop-up type form that appears when the Internet user scrolls or is about to leave a page on your blog or website.

To keep your audience engaged, you need to send emails regularly. 4 emails per month seems like a good sending rate.

The key to a successful online marketing strategy, and a fundamental element for your affiliate strategy, is to combine high value-added content with emailing, in the form of a newsletter, for example.

3- Advertising

In addition to the strategies listed above, you can start using PPC (Pay-per-Click) ads once your affiliate business starts to drive traffic. This is called “paid traffic”.

The advantage of this strategy is that it necessarily generates a minimum of traffic, without delay.

However, keep in mind that traffic from PPC ads does not guarantee clicks on your affiliate link.

This type of strategy is most often implemented in the context of well-paid affiliate programs, but it requires a minimum of experience in the field of online advertising, and it comes at a cost.

4- How to choose the best affiliate program?

Whether affiliate marketing is a secondary or primary source of income for you, selecting quality affiliate programs is crucial.

Studies show that, unsurprisingly, three-quarters of affiliate marketing newbies fail to make money because they don't choose the right products or services to promote.

To help you, here are some key factors that will make it easier for you to identify affiliate programs that are worthwhile.

The amount of commissions

This is probably the most important factor on the mind of anyone new to affiliate marketing.

But remember that selling a high priced product is much more difficult than selling a cheap product.

Accordingly, do not be obsessed with the amount of commissions.

Types of commission

There are 2 types of commissions: fixed and recurring.

In the flat commission model, the company pays you once for each sale. This pattern is most common for physical products. Rates can vary wildly, from 10% to over 90% of the product's value.

In the case of recurring commissions, things are a bit different. Every time a customer uses the product or renews their subscription, you earn a commission. So generally speaking you get recurring payments. This type of commission is usually found in companies that market SaaS software.

Cookie lifespan

How long does the cookie remain stored on the visitor's device?

This is an important question because this factor plays a role in maximizing your affiliate efforts.

For the Amazon Associates program, for example, it's only 24 hours. It is therefore necessary that the prospect buys his product quickly after clicking on your affiliate link for you to receive your commission.

Niche relevance

Are the products or services you are going to engage with relevant to your audience? Can they help them solve their problems or meet their needs?

If you chose them only because they offer high commissions, you are on the wrong track.

The most important criterion in your choice of affiliation remains your audience, because without it, there can be no sales, and therefore no affiliation commissions.

Payment method

You need to find out how you will receive your commissions. Do you need to provide a bank account to receive your money? Can you get it via PayPal or check?

When choosing how you are going to receive the money that comes from your affiliate work, you should also make sure that your bank account accepts the currency used by the affiliate program. Most of the time, you will have paid programs in dollars and euros, but there may be exceptions.

If it's a recurring model, make sure you know if you'll be paid monthly or quarterly.

The resources offered

Does the affiliate program you have chosen offer resources, such as banners, coupons, etc., to help boost your conversion rates? Or do they just give you a text link to promote?

Affiliates tend to value this type of resources because they play a key role in the success of their affiliate project.

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