With the rise of online jobs and freedom-based lifestyles, more millennials are looking at different options to supplement their income while traveling. Others are just starting and scaling up a side hustle to the point that they are ready to leave their 9-5 for good. Whatever your situation, this article will show you how to get started with affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is one of the popular ways to earn extra income. Once you set up the system and invest some time into your initial campaign, you will start to see return as customers purchase the product. You also have independence in setting your own goals, choosing products that interest you and determining your work hours.
This week on the Unconventional Life Show is John Crestani. John is an affiliate marketer that has massive success in this industry, making upwards of 3 million dollars in a single year with no employees on his team besides himself. John shares with us some of his knowledge and expertise to get your very own affiliate marketing side hustle up and running without any previous knowledge about SEO’s, sales funnels, copywriting or website development.
Firstly, John gives us the download on what exactly affiliate marketing is; “This specific type of advertising is when you promote other company’s products or services using your specific link. If people buy that product or service through your link, you will receive a commission.”
Join an affiliate marketing network
This network is where you will find products that you will link to and sell to make commissions from. Now that affiliate marketing is booming there are countless networks for you to join but the two networks that John recommends joining are Amazon and Clickbank.
Amazon vs. ClickBank. Let’s break it down.
In terms of the dollar amount per sale, Amazon affiliates will receive 1-10% depending on the category whereas a Clickbank user will receive 30-50% per sale.
As for conversions rates, Amazon crushes sales and will soon reach 50% of all online sales in North America. Not only because it’s a household name that has over 400 million products but their smooth check out process, fast delivery, and exceptional return policy makes them a trusted site. Clickbank is less known by the public and does have physical products but the majority of products are digital such as e-books, courses, videos, and software.
Simply go to the website and join the affiliate program. Once enrolled you will have a specific link to share for each individual product.
Find a specific product that you want to sell
The list of products that you can promote is endless but choose products that you personally believe in. This will make selling much easier as you will be able to share why you choose this product over so many others and the benefits others will receive if they purchase this product. You will also grow your personal brand by recommending useful and reliable products that are in demand for your customers.
Get people to click on your link
You want to sell without being sales-ey. Don’t tell people to straight out buy a product but recommend something that you have direct experience using. John reminds us to “inform and offer value” when you are trying to pitch your product.
Some examples of where to include your product link are; make a personal recommendation about your product on your social media sites along with a creative and eye-catching photo, add your link to your email lists, write a blog post or review about the product or post it as a relevant comment in a feed.
If you want to really dive into affiliate marketing you will have to do a bit more groundwork and spend some marketing $ for the right people to see your link. Taking these steps and familiarizing yourself with the process is a great start.
Sometimes it may feel that there is such a big gap between where you are and where you want to be that it can feel insurmountable at times. John advises us that he “started to develop confidence and close the gap was by education.” John has a great Youtube channel with daily uploads, he goes way more in-depth on this process so you can start to see definite wins on the board and cash in your million $ check 😉
This week on the giveaway John is giving away a six-week course where he will teach you how to do paid advertising online. In the course, you receive all of the resources necessary to get started in affiliate marketing including a list of affiliate networks you should be promoting, landing pages, advertisement copy and more to get you closer to six figures. To be entered to win the giveaway, click here. A winner will be selected next week.
