This blog post contains an affiliate link. That means if you buy what I'm promoting after clicking my link, I will get paid a commision but it will cost nothing extra for you.
In today’s world, you have a variety of options when it comes to starting an online business. You could go into Dropshipping (not one I recommend), Print on Demand, Amazon KDP, Affiliate Marketing, coaching, becoming a full-time Youtuber, etc.
Anyone can start one, but each needs a different skill set.
Affiliate Marketing is a performance-based business model, meaning you won’t get paid upfront for your work. Instead, you get paid by commissions, one for each sale you make or more if it’s recurring commissions!
And the more traffic you get, the more passive your income will be! Let’s start with key terms in affiliate marketing
Key Affiliate Marketing Terminology
Affiliate: someone who joins an affiliate program and promotes a product, whether digital or physical
Affiliate Program: A program an affiliate joins in which a business will pay you commissions
Affiliate Network: A network where you can get affiliate links for many businesses whereas an affiliate program is just for one specific business
Affiliate Disclosure: This is written to be transparent to your audience that you will get commissions if they buy through your affiliate links
Affiliate Link: A special link you are given that lets the business you are affiliated with know that someone bought something through your affiliate link
Commission: Money you get paid by referring someone to a product through your affiliate link
Five Crucial Steps to Get Started
Step 1. Find a Niche
In my opinion, finding a niche can be quite challenging at times. But finding a niche isn’t too hard. Brainstorm ideas related to your interests, passions, and hobbies.
If you say, have an interest in skiing you can create a website all about skiing. On your website, you can write about it and recommend products with affiliate links.
If you have an interest in astronomy you can build a blog where you talk about astronomy, answer questions, write informational articles on telescopes and related gear, and create listicle articles recommending telescopes for different focuses in astronomy. (This is a niche I’m working on.)
You don’t need to be an expert in your niche to choose one. However, if it is something you are interested in it will help you enjoy doing the research for your blog posts on your website.
Build a Website
Building a website is the next step of the process. Now that you have chosen your niche, the next step is to build your very own website! I’m a member of Wealthy Affiliate and they have their website builder platform called Soterubix where you can make your free website. Starting with a free website is a good idea because if you haven’t fully decided on your website name yet. You can always change it once you are ready to buy your domain.
● In Siterubix you add your domain name. It’ll tell you if it’s available.
● Next, you add your website name.
● You choose a theme
● click Create and your website comes into being.
After that, you need to work on the back end of your website to get it set up for SEO.
SEO means Search Engine Optimization and is crucial to getting your niche site or authority site to rank on Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Create Content and Add Affiliate Links
Next, it is recommended you work on your “About Me” page and also write content. When you write content, make a list of article ideas then begin writing that content. The more content you have, the faster you will rank. This is because you are building what’s known as “authority” that search engines will recognize. Usually, search engines such as Google will begin to take your website seriously once you have about at least 30 blog posts on your website.
Once you are ready, I suggest buying a domain. A domain you own will rank faster than a free website.
Gain Traffic
Next, as you continue to write articles and blog posts for your website, Google will begin to take notice. Having about 30 blog posts is when Google will begin to take your website more seriously and begin ranking your website.
A great focus is to gain topical authority. Create many blog posts all about your niche on your website, covering your niche from many angles. Create some informational blog posts, and listicles if that fit your niche.
Paid versus Free Traffic
There are two ways you can bring traffic to your niche or authority site. There is a free traffic and paid traffic.
Free Traffic: There are many avenues to gaining free traffic, SEO, Social Media Marketing, Youtube, and more
Paid Traffic: Also known as pay-per-click, you can promote your website through Google ads, Facebook ads, YouTube ads, and more.
Earn Profit
As a result of gaining traffic, you are more likely to make affiliate sales. When people buy through your affiliate link you’ll get a commission. Consistent traffic, plus affiliate sales equal passive income.