Feeling a bit lost when it comes to affiliate marketing? Don’t worry, you're not alone. This guide will break down how affiliate marketing works. We’ll also go over which platforms can help you earn the most passive income.
In case you don’t know, affiliate marketing is a way to earn money by promoting someone else’s products or services. You get a special link, and when someone makes a purchase through that link, you earn a commission. This commission can either be a percentage of the sale price or a set amount.
We’ll be discussing all of this and more in this article, and end by talking about the best affiliate program. See this article that the Washington City Paper wrote if you’d like more information on this topic. Let’s get started!
How Affiliate Marketing Works
When someone clicks your link, a cookie is stored on their device.
This cookie tracks their visit, so even if they don’t buy anything right away, you still get credit if they happen to make a purchase later. This system ensures that you earn your commission even if there's a delay in the customer’s purchase.
Is Affiliate Marketing Legit?
Some people question whether or not affiliate marketing is legit. Rest assured that affiliate marketing is, in fact, a genuine way to earn money online. It's perfectly legal as long as you follow the laws (needless to say, these laws will be different depending on where you live, so make sure to look it up).
Affiliate marketing is also ethical, just as long as you disclose your affiliate relationships and only promote products that you like and believe in. People will be able to see right through you if you’re not being truthful about liking a product, so make sure to take that into consideration.
The Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
Do you have a lot of social media followers or spend a lot of time blogging? If so, you’d probably be a fantastic affiliate marketer. Here are some of the main benefits of affiliate marketing:
Earn Passive Income
Unlike a regular job where you earn money based on how many hours you work, affiliate marketing allows you to earn money as long as people are visiting your site (and making purchases through your links, of course). Learn more here.
Low Risk
There’s a lot of risk that comes with starting a traditional business, mostly because it’s really expensive. This isn’t the case with affiliate marketing, though. If it doesn’t pan out for whatever reason, you've only invested a little bit of time and a small amount of money.
Scalability
While a regular salesperson can only sell products from the company they work for, as an affiliate marketer, you’ll get to promote products from all sorts of different companies. You’ll also get to earn commissions from each one!
How to Get Started
The first thing you’re going to want to do is pick a niche. Your “niche” is simply what you’re most interested in (i.e. jewelry, fashion, food, tech, etc.). By picking out a niche, you’ll be able to target a specific audience (and answer any questions that your followers have, since you’ll be an expert in that area).
You should also create a blog or website where you can post content related to your niche (if you haven’t done so already). This is where you will place your affiliate links. Just make sure that the website is easy for people to use, or else they might get discouraged and won’t click on your links. Make sure that the content you’re posting is engaging, too!
Next, you can post your content on social media, forums, and other platforms where your target audience spends time. The more traffic you’re able to drive to your blog or website, the more likely it is that you’ll earn commissions on the products you’re promoting. This is much more effective than traditional marketing. Read about it here.
Earn More With LucasGift
When it comes to affiliate programs, LucasGift is a great choice. They have personalized gifts (click here), including personalized graduation gifts for everyone, no matter what the occasion is. Check out this website to learn more! LucasGift also offers generous commissions, so it’s an especially great option for beginners. Click here to learn about how you can get started with the LucasGift affiliate program today!
