Once you've decided on a niche, the next step is to choose which affiliate program to join. The most logical thing to do is to choose an affiliate site or products that align with your niche, and you can find this in two ways: direct and through marketplaces.
If you already know brands in your niche that have affiliate marketing programs, you can contact them directly and sign up with them (affiliate programs are usually free).
The other option is to join an affiliate program marketplace or affiliate network where you can browse thousands of programs and sign up through the marketplace.
Affiliate networks offer new marketers free and easy access to thousands of reputable affiliate programs that you can join right away. Affiliate networks feature brands with affiliate programs in various niches, such as:
ShareASale
ClickBank
Awin
FlexOffers
Amazon Associates
CJ (Commission Junction)
Rakuten Advertising
And while these are all reputable options,canada phone no you should also consider commission rates and earnings per click (EPC) rates. A relevant affiliate marketing program might have a low commission rate, but a high EPC, meaning it can still be a valuable program to join.
Choose a traffic source
At this point, you'll need to start thinking about your traffic source for your affiliate marketing program. There are many free platforms to consider that can help quickly, such as social media, platforms like YouTube, and forum-based sites like Reddit and Quora. Let's look at some advantages and disadvantages of each channel:
Facebook
Pros : The largest social media platform. You can reach a huge audience for your affiliate products.
Cons : Less attractive to younger audiences. Poor organic reach.
Instagram
Pros : Highly visual, great for showcasing affiliate products and services. Strong emphasis on video content like Reels and Stories.
Cons : Lower organic reach for feed posts.
YouTube
Pros : Great for search engine optimization (SEO). Global audience of over two billion people per month.
Cons : Significant competition in most niches. Videos need to be professional and high quality to attract new and returning visitors and keep them interested enough to click on an affiliate link.
TikTok
Pros : Short video clips that don't require a "professional" look and feel. More personalized content and authentic experiences. Trends start on TikTok.
Cons : Links in descriptions are not clickable. Your affiliate link will have to live on a link page in bio.
LinkedIn
Pros : Excellent organic reach for affiliates. Established platform for professionals.
Cons : Predominantly for B2B audiences.
You may be hesitant if you don't have any followers, but this is your chance to get them. That being said, you don't need a huge following to make money with affiliate marketing, you just need to reach the right audience.
You can also join Facebook groups in your niche and answer questions, or make responses to relevant TikTok videos in your industry. The key to building an audience is engagement, not just spamming with affiliate offers.
Create content to build trust
No matter what platforms you decide to use for your affiliate marketing strategy, the next step is to start creating content that builds trust with your target audience. In 2023, internet users around the world spent, on average, 151 minutes a day on social media.
What keeps us connected for more than two hours a day? Content. And this is the best strategy for an affiliate.
Building a content library takes time, so you need to plan ahead and create a content calendar or strategy that matches your affiliate marketing goals. This also includes high frequency and consistency to build audience loyalty.
Your calendar can include outlines of the type of content you'll post on any given day, such as:
Tutorials
Questions and Answers
Product Reviews
How to do
Tips and tricks
When crafting your content strategy, also keep in mind a keyword strategy, especially for YouTube SEO (if you choose YouTube as your platform). After all, even high-quality content can get lost in the noise if you don’t optimize it for search results.
You can figure out which keywords to use with a little research. Using YouTube as an example, try looking up your competitors' channels. See which of their most popular videos are and pay attention to the video title, description, and hashtags they've used.
When engaging in affiliate marketing, be sure to include links to your affiliate products or services, and add a disclaimer explaining that they are affiliated.