How To Start Affiliate Marketing For Free? A Step-By-Step Guide
If you have always wanted to get started with affiliate marketing but needed more clarity on how to get started, you’re in the right place.
In this article, we run through a step-by-step guide on how to start affiliate marketing with no money.
Affiliate marketing is a lucrative business that you can start as a side hustle in your free time with just your phone/ laptop and the internet: no investment required.
Novel affiliate marketers always search for ways to join programs with higher returns and require low to no financing.
So let’s get started on how to start affiliate marketing for free.
Understanding The Basics
Affiliate marketing is a form of marketing where affiliates can sign-up with an affiliate program, share and promote numerous products and reap a commission based on the sales that are made via a designated affiliate link/code.
Did you know that the current global market size for affiliate marketing is over $17 billion?
It is a high-return marketing business, and for many companies, it is one of their top source of revenue.
By monetizing your content, you can earn passively over an extended period. When you become an affiliate marketer, these sales can make you money while you sleep, travel, work, or even on vacation.
Key Steps To Get Started
Signing up for an affiliate program of choice
Signing up for an affiliate program is the first step in getting started. Affiliates can choose from various programs across various niches and platforms.
Try to align yourself with companies related to your audience.
If you run a travel blog: Stick to travel, tour, or accommodation affiliate programs.
If you are a fitness influencer: Stick to health and fitness products.
You will have little luck selling dog toys or children’s tutor sessions on you’re travel blog.
Usually, signing up with an affiliate program is accessible by simply filling out a form and providing essential information. Once accepted, you start a direct and transparent partnership with the brand/ platform.
Get a designated customized affiliate link
Once you sign up with an affiliate program of choice, you will be provided with a unique affiliate link that you can use to promote the product for sale via the platform or the business’s affiliate program.
Affiliates can promote products and services of a particular brand or niche on their social media platforms such as YouTube videos, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Affiliates can also choose email marketing, start blogging for an affiliate website or write product reviews for the affiliate products.
Start earning from the get-go when customers purchase via your affiliate link
Earn commissions right away when customers purchase through your affiliate link. As soon as a customer uses your affiliate link to buy a product, you earn a percentage of the sale. This commission rate is established when you join the affiliate program.
To maximize your earnings, promote the affiliate products by creating and sharing high-quality content on social media platforms or blogs. Share your affiliate link with your loyal followers, readers, and customers to encourage them to make a purchase. Through content marketing, you can achieve significant returns.
How To Start Affiliate Marketing With No Money
Let us show you how to start your affiliate marketing journey for free and make money.
Choose An Appropriate Niche To Get Started
Once you have chosen your niche, you must create high-quality content and promote the products via social media, blogs, email, etc.
You can also choose to sign up on multiple affiliate networks, but make sure to read the terms and conditions beforehand. For example, some programs have rules to be followed and do not allow certain modes of promotion such as PPC advertising.
One of the best perks of affiliate marketing is that any social media influencer, YouTuber, avid blogger, or creator can get started in just a few simple steps without any bulky investment.
Market Research Is Crucial To Choose The Right Niche
As part of your market research, you can Google the most popular and profitable niche sites and current market trends as you investigate potential niches.
You can then choose a niche that best applies to your audience, such as; Fitness, technology, healthcare, cooking, wellness, and finance. Your niche can be anything, from a hobby to your favorite interests to a way of living.
As a beginner, it is better to choose a niche that you are familiar with so that you can promote content that speaks to your target audience.
- Fitness Niche– Exercise accessories, gym/ home gym equipment, Yoga, Running/Hiking.
- Health Niche-, Physical/mental health, Nutrition, anti-aging, personal care, overall wellness.
- Technology Niche- Gaming, IoT, VPN, Mobile app development, Web hosting, Cybersecurity.
- Hobby Niche- Cooking, art/music, DIY, writing, photography, and traveling.
- Fashion and Beauty Niche– Top beauty/make-up products, current fashion trends, useful products/accessories.
- Home Niche- Gardening. pets, interior design, Parenting, and useful home tips.
Choose An Affiliate Program
Once you have narrowed down on a niche, the next step is to research and choose an affiliate program that best resonates with your interests and knowledge.
Research and find a program that will flow nicely with your audience. Then, choose the one with higher affiliate commissions.
If you find products or services that you would like to promote, check if they have an existing affiliate program, if they do you can join their affiliate program.
If not you can also reach out to the marketing team to find out if they can work out something for you. If the products don’t have an individual affiliate program you can choose from the following programs to get started.
Top affiliate networks to consider
- Amazon Associates (Amazon Affiliate Program)
- AvantLink
- eBay Partner Network
- ShareASale
- JVZoo
- Refersion
- Impact.com
- FlexOffers
- Shopify
Top Strategies To Promote Affiliate Programs
Once you have successfully signed up with a program, you will get a unique affiliate link that you can use to promote the products on various platforms and markets. Here are some popular methods and strategies you can use to make more affiliate sales
Create Content That Will Attract Customers To Your Site
This is one of the most important steps to bring customers into your site and help them choose a product or service that suits their needs best.
The content you put out there should be engaging and highly useful for the customer. With the end goal of making a sale.
So, how to make your content click-worthy?
Optimize your content
You must optimize your content to rank in search engines and speak directly to your target audience. Speaking directly to your audience will increase conversion rates and sales. In addition, SEO-optimized content will help drive quality leads to your website and allow you to reach your audience for free organically.
No matter the platform you choose to provide content, it can be anything from writing blog posts, engaging on Facebook or LinkedIn groups, Instagram reels/posts, or creating video content for YouTube or other social media platforms, SEO can help augment traffic and awareness of your website.
Share some behind scenes of your life or business; people love to see how those products helped you.
Decide on the type of content
You should decide on the type of content that you will be using to engage your audience with.
There are numerous choices like blog posts, videos, tips and tutorials, Instagram reels, email marketing, how-to guides, TikTok videos, and product reviews.
Research and create content
You need to create content on the platform that is optimized and relevant to competitors, in line with current trends on social media, across market niches, and varied product categories.
Your content should promote products and services that your target audience is looking for.
Many creators already have an existing social media platform that they use to promote their products and also have quite a following for.
If you don’t have a specific social media platform, it is essential to create one and start creating content and posting regularly to drive traffic and gain a following.
Build Your Audience
When you have chosen a niche, it is time to get started on building an audience that will visit your website and become potential customers.
Create A Blog For Organic Reach
You can start a blog to educate your target audience on products and services and how they can add value to your customers. Blogging has a lot of benefits and is quite popular when it comes to reaching out to your customers.
Creating content on a blog or website can quickly bring your target customers via search engine traffic.
Email Marketing
One of the effective ways to start affiliate marketing is creating an email list which is incredibly important because it allows you to create more connections.
It’s an opportunity to build the connection and create the trust that’s so important in affiliate sales. Customers can check out the products and services via email and make a purchase directly.
It is also found that email marketing is one of the best ways to connect with potential customers vs. via social media. It is also an effective way to acquire new customers compared to social platforms.
You can use Convertkit if you want to start email marketing for free and try your hands on a good email provider service.
Once you have an email list and content in place, it’s now time to promote your affiliate products/services via social media.
If you already have a social media account and are posting regularly or have an avid following, it is easier for you to grow your reach.
The social media platform you choose to promote your affiliate marketing products may also influence your target audience.
For example, Instagram and Pinterest appeal to visually oriented audiences, whereas Medium is for educational/informational articles and Youtube for videos.
Share a few promotional deals once in a while to keep customers coming back for more.
Youtube
If you want to promote your products or services on Youtube, you must create a channel for your particular niche.
You can share videos on informational and educational content, product reviews, how you use and benefit from various products, etc. This is a great way to promote your products and build trust with your target audience.
You can also do a basic keyword research on Google/YouTube about your product and include those keywords in the title and description of the video.
Facebook is widely popular around the world and many people prefer this platform. It will be easier for you to start affiliate marketing on Facebook by sharing and promoting your affiliate products across borders.
When you are considering starting affiliate marketing free, Facebook is a great platform to commence –
- You can reach the greater masses if you create a Facebook group or page to create and share your content.
- You can share content ideas like product reviews, Facebook reels, videos, posts promoting your products, etc.
- Combining your efforts to make a Facebook page and a group for your niche has higher chances of discovery and traction.
- You can regularly alert your followers about the other sales or offers on the products and services. This is the best way to start affiliate marketing with no money or investment.
Being a visual-oriented platform, Pinterest is buzzing with creators, businesses, stellar images, and posts. Therefore, it is one of the best platforms to promote and propagate your brand and products/services.
It is a high-end visual search engine where users can share, post images or content, and save what they like as videos or pins.
Many users also search for products and ideas they see on other platforms or want inspiration from. This can lead to a lot of inbound traffic to your page and get attention for your products.
Pinterest’s scheduling feature also allows you to bulk-create several posts/pins, so you can upload numerous videos or create several story pins, automatically enhancing your marketing efforts.
When you choose to promote your affiliate marketing on Instagram, you can easily reach out to millions worldwide.
With Instagram, you can drive large amounts of traffic to your affiliate links for free and to a larger audience. This platform mainly is a visual platform that flourishes on good-quality photos, reels/videos, and trending hashtags.
- You can create a free Instagram account and link it to your Facebook account if you have one.
- You can educate customers by sharing your product information via posts or reels and optimizing it using trending and relevant hashtags.
- You can create content such as product reviews/tutorials, product details and benefits, and how to buy them.
- You should also optimize your Instagram profile with an engaging bio section and also include your affiliate links in the bio, this will make sure you keep getting organic traffic to your page/account and reach out to more people.
- If you also have a YouTube or Pinterest account, you can cross-sell or use each platform to display and promote links on every platform. This will ensure that more traffic reaches your affiliate products.
If you are dealing with B2B-oriented audiences and products such as in the software, B2B business, tech/tech ed, and digital marketing niches, LinkedIn is a great place to start for free and start generating leads.
- You can make successful affiliate marketing efforts with LinkedIn using its organic reach and features.
- You can post product recommendations, reviews, and benefits using posts and also join similar niche groups to promote your products.
- Sending connection requests and connecting with people/businesses with a similar interest, niche and industry can uplift the reach and credibility of your affiliate products.
- Ensure you optimize your LinkedIn profile to reach out to targeted customers and the industry.
TikTok
This platform needs no introduction and is the most famous platform for sharing and promoting your content/business/products. TikTok has a great following; you can reach out to greater masses across the globe with targeted marketing tactics.
- If you market products strategically, you can make great returns by selling or promoting your affiliate products here.
- You can create a TikTok account for free and post high-quality videos to promote your products.
- You can use video editing tools to ensure the videos are highly appealing and grab attention.
- You can also follow the many TikTok trends with videos and click-worthy content that can spruce up your reach.
Medium
If you are a blogger and want to get started for free, consider Medium. It is a free platform where bloggers and writers can publish their articles for free.
You don’t need a website to publish your articles. Medium allows you to post your articles and affiliate content.
- Since Medium mainly deals with written content, you can use it to write educational, informational, and promotional content about your business or products.
- You can then use these articles to promote on your other social platforms and increase traffic. You can put your affiliate link in the disclosure section of your affiliate posts.
- Do not overcrowd your articles with affiliate links as this may get you shadow-banned and make your articles look spammy.
Driving Traffic To Your Content And Website
Your content should be high-quality and click-worthy to get you traffic and organic reach to your customers.
Always plan and provide useful, informative, and visually appealing content that will lure your visitors and help convert to potential customers.
Type of content that does well with affiliate marketing are
- Product reviews
- Product Guides
- Q&As
- How to Guides
- Informational Guides
- Tips and tricks
- Instructional videos/posts
- Product comparison articles
- Tutorials
Your content should bring value to your customers and help solve problems. Therefore, you should strategize your content on these points mainly and you can reap the benefits of a highly engaged audience.
Every platform has a specific SEO tactic you need to keep in mind to ensure your content flourishes. In addition, you can do keyword research and topic research to know what keywords and topics are trending currently.
Tracking Performance Metrics
Once you have your affiliate marketing strategy and business rolling, keeping track of how you are doing in terms of sales, traffic, and conversions is important. You can use many free tools to get an idea of these statistics and change your strategies to improve any parameters.
These metrics can help you change your strategies or product placements so as to improve your reach and sales.
Leverage Free/Paid Tools To Track Performance Metrics
You can use tools like eLitius, AffTrack, MPA3 Affiliate Tracking Script, LinkTrack, HitPath, and Peerclick to track your affiliate programs and how they are fairing across platforms.
Please use Google Analytics and other important KPIs like net monthly sales, Earnings per click (EPC), Sales per affiliate, Effective earnings per click (EPC), etc, to help you track your affiliate performance metrics and promote affiliate products differently.
They can help you collect data and statistics, track and analyze your affiliate performance and give you a picture of your performance. You can then strategize and make changes to your efforts accordingly.
Scale Up Your Affiliate Business Once You Grow!
Once you have an affiliate business in place, be bold in updating your strategies and keeping the ones that work the best and scraping off the ones that don’t. You can also scale up the business by –
Hiring helpers
Look on Fiverr or Upwork and choose freelancers like writers, social media managers, or video editors to help you save time and effort.
Investing in Banner Ads
Choose from a website that fits your niche perfectly and can display banners with your affiliate promotional products. These ads can spruce up your sales by reaching your target audience.
Paid Social Media Advertising
Social media platforms are the best way to reach out to your target audience. Thus by promoting your products or services on paid social media advertising, you can tap into that audience effortlessly on major platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.
Paid Website Ads
On various websites, you can optimize your ads for the particular website, boost traffic to your affiliate posts with strategic advertising, and increase organic traffic.
FAQS – How To Start An Affiliate Marketing Business For Free
How do I start affiliate marketing as a beginner?
Starting with affiliate marketing is easy for a beginner, and very rewarding. You can choose a niche of your choice, create engaging content that can educate and inform customers about how the products can help them, promote these products, sign up for an affiliate program. When customers buy the product via your affiliate link, you earn a commission. It’s that simple.
Does it cost money to start affiliate marketing?
You can start affiliate marketing without any investment and make money online. Just sign up for a free affiliate program and start promoting your products and earn commissions.
Where can I post affiliate links for free?
- Medium
- Social media platforms
- Personal blog or website
Are Amazon affiliate links free?
The Amazon Affiliate program, or Amazon Associates, is free and the affiliate links can be used for free by website owners, bloggers, and influencers.
Start Your Affiliate Marketing Journey Today!
You don’t have to spend a fortune or invest a lot to start an affiliate marketing business.
It all comes down to choosing the right affiliate program as per your niche and interest.
Go through various affiliate marketing programs and their details such as commission structure, pay structure, terms and conditions, payment type and dates, payment medium, etc.
Read through a lot of research and then choose the program that best suits your liking.
You can start for free, build your affiliate business, and passively earn profit. Your efforts will earn for you over the long run with little maintenance.
So what are you waiting for? Pick the right program and get started right away!
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