Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
Now that you have started your blog, you should have a couple of articles posted. However, if you're not blogging as a hobby, you should be monetizing it by now. There are many ways to monetize a blog, and one of them is affiliate marketing. If you have a decent page view by now, then it's about time that you go for it.
Affiliate Marketing for Beginners
Affiliate marketing is a simple tactic that you can use to earn from your efforts in maintaining a blog. The basic concept is that you will earn a commission in every sale that your affiliate link makes. But it does not just happen overnight. You need to do something first if you want to become an affiliate. But don't worry, it's not very hard to do that. You can do it in a few minutes so that you can start including them on your blog.
Things to Do to Become an Affiliate
1. Find a Company that Offers an Affiliate Program
There are tons of companies these days that offer affiliate programs. It's the best way to market their products and services, that's why they offer them. As an affiliate, you will get a generous amount of commission, which looks like a win-win to me.
The companies can have as many affiliates that will promote their business, which is way better than hiring salespeople. Although most companies offer a good percentage of commission, it's the best way to earn money.
Here are some examples of the companies that I am promoting currently.
Bluehost offers a generous bounty per sale. You can get as much as $100 currently if you're one of their affiliates. But usually, it will be at $65, which is not bad for just one sale.
It's also a hosting web service that offers affiliate programs. Although the commission is not as good as Bluehost, they offer more affordable service so you will have more chances of getting a sale.
Choosing Affiliate Programs
According to Niche
There are so many affiliate programs to choose from, but it's essential to choose the one related to your niche. If your blog is about food, then go for something related to cooking or dining. Since this blog niche is about writing and blogging, web hosting services should work out fine.
Go for Trusted Companies
There are a lot of companies that offer an affiliate program out there. But you must choose which one you think that you can trust personally. It's okay if you haven't tried them yet. What matters is that you research the company before recommending them to other people.
Commission Schemes
Make sure to check out their commission schemes. Some companies will pay you by impression, pay per click-, or pay per sale. It's best to learn about their affiliate program if you think it will work out for you just fine.
2. Sign Up as a Publisher
Once you have chosen the company that you want to become an affiliate of, it's time to sign up. You will be asked about your business, which is your blog name. You will also need to submit your tax information since it's mandatory. Just complete everything on the signup page to have more chances of getting approved.
3. Wait for the Approval
Some companies will send you instant approval, but most don't. That means that they will have to review your application first before you can become their affiliate. Don't worry; it's not that long. Most of them will send you an approval email just after 24 hours.
4. Start Promoting
Once you receive the approval email, it means that your affiliate profile is ready. You can already log in to your affiliate account. Just look for the links that are available for you to use so you can start promoting them. There will also be some banners that you can display on your blog. Just utilize them according to your preference.
5. Blog Disclosure
Now that you have product or service links included in your blog, you will need to add a disclosure to your content. It's a mandatory thing to do if you don't want to get in trouble. Since you're selling something on your blog now, it's a must, so just create your blog disclosure and have it in every article.
Conclusion
Being an affiliate is an excellent way to start making money from your blog. Since you're exerting time and effort for it, you might as well start monetizing it. However, don't go overboard and flood your blog with affiliate links. Just have a few and save some room for your ads network, which will be our next topic.
