Affiliate marketing is very interesting as it’s actually similar to the last business model we looked at but with one key difference: you don’t need a product. So if you thought that creating a digital product was low risk, this is even lower risk.
How is this possible?
Simple: you are selling someone else’s product. Your profits then will come instead from the commission made on that product which is much higher on the web than it is for door-to-door salesmen. To put things in perspective, you can sometimes make as much as 100% commission on a digital product. That means you actually earn more than the product creator!
So how does this work?
Why would they be interested in offering you more money than themselves? As we discussed, a digital product has no COGS which means it offers 100% profit. A product creator can sell as many copies of their product as they like then and then get affiliates to sell more of their product on top of that. They might not get 100% of your sales, but those are still additional sales generating additional profits on top of what they already earned.
From your perspective
Not only are you getting to sell a product without having to invest any time or money on creation – but you’re also able to choose a tried and tested seller.
In other words, you can pick something that you can already see is selling really well! And there’s no limit to your earnings here either: if you want more money, you simply find a more expensive product. Or maybe you end up taking on 2 or 10 affiliate products and earning from all of them!
How to Get Started In Affiliate Marketing
So how does this actually work? To begin with, you need to find your product that you want to sell. The easiest way to do this is through an affiliate network such as:
Here, you’ll then be able to find a massive list of affiliate products along with the amount they’ve sold, the commission they’re offering and their price.
Promote Your Affiliate Link
You might for instance decide to simply set up an advertising campaign using Facebook Ads or AdWords. As long as you’re paying less for the advertising than you’re earning from the sales, then this will be an effective method.
You can also promote through:
- Email lists
- Blogs
- Social media
- YouTube
- Offline materials like posters and flyers
Affiliate Marketing Best Practices And Tips
Now you know what affiliate marketing is and how to get started with an affiliate marketing network, the next thing to consider is how best to succeed in this space.
Choose the right product. That means:
- It’s selling well
- It offers a large commission
- It fits your audience
- You have a route to market
Use existing contacts, niches, and platforms where you already have an edge.
Physical Products?
You can also promote physical products. The best known affiliate program for this is Amazon Associates. However, note that commissions are much smaller (3–10%)
