What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts (Wikipedia)
So basically affiliate marketing involves two parties, first is the vendor or merchant. The vendor or merchant owns the product, services or programs. The vendor then wants to reach a wider audience and builds an affiliate program that will sell and or promote the affiliate program. The seller or promoter through an is called affiliates.
Every affiliate gets unique affiliate links that he or she can use during the promotion of an affiliate program. Affiliates receive a commission from the vendor for every successful sale or sign-up into the merchant’s program. It is a performed-based kind or marketing.
You can choose to promote low ticket affiliate programs or a high ticket paying affiliate programs. It all depends on your planning, goals, and niches.
How to start affiliate marketing on high paying affiliate programs?
First of all, decide if you want to be the vendor or the affiliate. In this article, I will be talking on how to be an affiliate.
- Proper mindset
- This the most neglected part of the planning phase. A proper mindset is important to reach a goal. If you think that affiliate marketing is a get rich-quick-system then you are wrong. So make a time to channel your thoughts on the challenges you might be facing when starting your affiliate business. Most of all believe in yourself. Believe that you can do it, as the famous quote says that “You fail because you quit”.
- Get motivated. Think and reflect on your W’s. Why are you looking for an extra online income? For whom are you doing this (for yourself, family, for a better future)? Your reasons will be the motivation that will guide you in reaching your goals in life.
2. Find your niche
- Take time to think about what niche will you be doing. Think of your passion, what you like to do, what are your strengths. Because if you like what you’re doing then you will likely be more motivated and more engaging to your niche. Remember that you are starting a long term online business opportunity so it is better to connect your passion with your niche. The best affiliate marketing niches will be discussed below.
3. Find and join the affiliate program of your chosen niche.
- Finding the best and well-established affiliate programs might be difficult and time-consuming because there are too many new and scam affiliate programs that have sprouted all over the internet. It is important to make a research and read reviews, read the affiliate program itself before jumping into it. There’s a further discussion below about where to find affiliate programs to join.
Where to find high paying affiliate programs in different niches?
There are widely used platforms on where to find affiliate programs on different niches.
- Clickbank. Clickbank offers thousands of products on different niches. It is easy and free to join as an affiliate. Try finding a product with high gravity. Gravity according to Clickbank means the number of affiliates who made a sale during a period. So if the gravity is high then you know that that product is saleable and you can promote as well and have a slice of the pie, right?
2. Jv zoo. Just like Clickbank, Jv Zoo is a free marketplace to join. They also offer automation of online sale, marketing, and delivery. With thousands of products to choose from then, you will definitely find a good fit for you here. There are some affiliate products that you need to apply and get approval before you can promote them.
3. Warrior plus. Warrior plus is similar to Clickbank and JZ zoo. Free to sign-up, find the product you want to promote and request to be an affiliate from the vendor.
4. Amazon associates. You probably heard and used already the amazon platform to buy something online. Aside from the Amazon platform where people can sell their products, Amazon has an affiliate program as well. Apply as an Amazon associates and you have countless of products on different niches to choose from to promote. What is good with Amazon is that they are very good at offering upsells, so you get a commission not just with the product you are promoting but for the total of what the customer has bought after check out.
5. ShareAsale. ShareAsale is another very good affiliate platform to join. They have been in the business for 19 years. ShareAsale is an affiliate marketing network. They offer a variety of products and services that you can apply to be an affiliate. You need to get approval from the merchant before you can start promoting the products and or services you have chosen.
Important things to consider finding an affiliate product.
- Is the product sellable? Is there a huge market for the product? It is important to consider what type of product or services you are going to promote. You want to promote something that will solve the problem. Example, there are people who are always looking for a solution on how to lose weight, on how to solve acne/ scars, on how to earn extra income, and many more.
- Find a product that has recurring commissions. Recurring income is better than a one-time payment, right? Recurring commissions means you´ll be getting monthly commissions for as long as that person stays an active member or active customer on the product or service they signed -up for.
- Does the vendor offer support and tools for their affiliates? This is very important especially if you are getting started on affiliate marketing, you need a support system from the company and or vendor. Even better if the vendor provides free training on how to market their products. Normally, vendors provide images, banners, videos or testimonials for the affiliates to use on their promotional.
- Is the offer worldwide? It is better to find an affiliate program that you can market internationally. Targeting the international market is better, there are hungry buyers around the world looking for a product or services that will solve their problems.
Topmost profitable affiliate niches
Below are the best affiliate niches to promote. These are some of the profitable ones that are here to stay. There will always be people looking for solutions to their problems connected to these categories. There are other niches with huge markets but I chose these top 4 below. It is because there are many successful and experts in online business that encourages people to go with these niches.
- Health and fitness
- Dietary supplements
- Diets and weight loss
- Exercise and fitness
- Nutrition
- Yoga
- Mental health
- …and so much more…
2. Wealth
- affiliate marketing
- e-commerce
- forex trading
- cryptocurrency
- multi-level marketing
- and other businesses.
3. Self-help
- Dating guides
- Marriage and relationships
- Self-esteem
- Stress management
- …and so on…
4. Beauty
- Beauty niche will always be a contender in the most profitable niches. People will always find a way and a solution on how to look good, stay young, how to have flawless skin, make-ups, anti-aging creams, whitening creams, and the like. The beauty industry has so much to offer and people will love to buy and try new products.
Most highly recommended best affiliate programs on the wealth niche
An affiliate beginner´s problem is how to look for the best affiliate programs to promote. I have some of the best affiliate programs below. These are affiliate platforms that a beginner on affiliate marketing can start with.
- Wealthy Affiliate. You will never go wrong with Wealthy Affiliate. I have discussed Wealthy Affiliate on my previous article, you can access it here. Wealthy Affiliate is highly recommended, especially for beginners. With WA’s awesome video training and support system from the company and the WA community, you will definitely learn a lot and will be ready to start your online business.
2. Clickfunnels. You can read my Clickfunnels article here. Clickfunnels by Russell Brunson is a very useful tool in any niches. If you want to start and scale your business then this tool is the one for you. Increase your sales and traffic using different sales funnels and pages inside this awesome software. You can generate leads, sell your products, follow-up funnels and so much more! They provide pre-built templates that you can edit or customize according to your business needs and goals.
Besides Russell Brunson is a trusted well-established name in the Wealth industry so you are definitely in good hands! Clickfunnels has different products ranging from free training, free books and they have high paying affiliate programs to join from. Think of it that Clickfunnels can pay the monthly down payment of your dream car on their Dream car challenge.
3. Super Affiliate System by John Crestani. You might or might not heard of this but the Super affiliate system is a high ticket affiliate course by John Crestani. You can check Clickbank and you will find that this program has high gravity and is popular amongst affiliates to promote. John Crestani himself has made millions on his online business. In addition to that, Super Affiliate System is offered in different languages so it’s a plus factor if you want to market it non-English-speaking countries. The super affiliate program is one of the best high paying affiliate program you can join. John Crestani has a free webinar on how to start affiliate marketing and you can access it here.
4. Clickbank University. Known as CBU is Clickbank’s own high converting affiliate program to help both their vendor and affiliates find success inside Clickbank so this is definitely legit and not a scam. CBU has awesome recurring commissions and is very popular on the e-commerce and e-marketing category of Clickbank. Clickbank University has two sections of the course. One on how to become a successful affiliate and the other one is on how to become a successful vendor. That depends on what you choose to start or do on your online business. If you have products or services to offer then go for the vendor program.
Promoting affiliate programs; Free and paid traffic
Another affiliate problem, especially for beginners, is getting traffic. Luckily we have almost all type of platforms we can use on today´s digital world. You can make use of different social media platforms and forums to start marketing your chosen niche for free. But if you have the budget and want to scale your online business right away then you are free to do so. Below are some of the platforms you can get traffic with.
1. Facebook. Facebook can be either free or paid. You can promote on your Facebook page or profile or better if you have your own Facebook group then you can generate leads for free. If you want to scale then you can do Facebook ads.
2. Blog. Start a website with a domain related to your niche and start writing valuable blogs for your audience. Starting a website is not free but in the long run, as you develop your website and post more articles related to your niche then you are getting free traffic. You can check my article about blogging here.
3. Pinterest. Oh, I love Pinterest, It’s free traffic! Free to sign-up and start making your boards and pins with your affiliate link directing your followers/ audience to your affiliate program. Try to find and follow people on your niche and post regularly to grow your followers.
4. Instagram. Can be paid or free. Open an Instagram account to post something about your niche and grow your followers to have free traffic. You can also contact influencers in your niche to promote your affiliate program.
5. Google ads or Bing ads. Just like Facebook ads, this is paid traffic. You can choose to do so depending on your allotted budget for your online business.
6. Udimi. Udimi is paid traffic. Here you can find sellers who will promote your affiliate link, or this is also known as solo ads.
7. Forums. You can join different forums and start a discussion or answer questions related to your niche. Make sure not to spam the forum just by posting your affiliate link. Consider adding value and be helpful and honest to answer the questions before adding up some links.
8. YouTube. This platform is very effective in gaining organic and paid traffic. You can make your own YouTube channel under your niche and start providing valuable contents. If you don’t like to make your own YouTube channel then you can advertise on YouTube just like any other advertisement platforms.
9. Twitter. Similar to Instagram and Pinterest, you can open your twitter account and grow your list to have some organic leads.
Click here to learn how Dave, a broke laborer turned himself into a successful online millionaire
Disclaimer. Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick system. If you are looking for an easy way to get rich then you are on the wrong page. Just like any other businesses, affiliate marketing needs your investment on time, effort and money. Affiliate marketing commissions varies on many factors. Work hard, stay focus and believe in yourself to attain your goal.
I have heard about affiliate marketing a couple of weeks ago and I talked with some people who are making good money with it.
I would like to get started as well but I don’t have the slightest idea about the whole process… Your article definitely helped a lot.
Is there any of those trainings that focus more on beginners?
Hi Harry, yes there are Free trainings on affiliate marketing. Click below to access the free video training course, free webinar and free book that will help beginners have an idea of how affiliate marketing works and how to start.
Free video course click here, Free webinar, Free book
This is a great overview of affiliate marketing and the best programs for it. I really like how you stress that you need the proper mindset for affiliate marketing, that it’s going to be hard work. Also thanks for the heads up on the JV Zoo. I had not seen that program before, and I will check it out. I really like too, your “things to consider”. It is really hard not to just jump in and become affiliate partners with everyone. You have to consider what is best for your business, what will get you the most revenue, and what you should just leave alone. Great post and thanks for the info. Rhonda
Hi Rhonda. Thank you and welcome, am glad you like my blog. I just needed to emphasize that proper mindset is important because people overlook this all the time. I believe proper mindset and the reasons “why” will make affiliates stay motivated.
Hi,
I am currently a Wealthy Affiliate premium member. I find the training to be really comprehensive and easy to follow. It appealed to me more than the other affiliate marketing training platforms I came across, as they are not too pushy and you get to see what it entails.
I am not familiar with Click Funnels. Is this something that can be used along side the Wealthy Affiliate training effectively?
Hi Tom, yes Clickfunnels can be used in any type of businesses. I am into e-commerce and affiliate marketing and there are tools and software that I needed to scale my business and I found that on Clickfunnels.
If you are ready to diversify and scale your business then check out Clickfunnels. You will surely love it!
The is a very good and informative post I actually wanted to read every word to see where it was going. I think you should not forget to tell your readers about dedication and hard work that is needed and you have done justice to that. Wealthy affiliate is what I’ve started doing and I don’t know if I can juggle it with other affiliate programmes seeing that I still have a full-time job. Thanks for enlightening me. Great post
Hi Henderson, a satisfied reader makes me a happy blogger! I understand your side and totally agree that concentrate on one thing first, scale your WA business and when you are ready to do other online business then you can check out other affiliate programs
There are literally so many avenues one can take in affiliate marketing, and as long as the products the affiliate marketer is promoting on their sites are sellable, there is a lot of money to be made. Something I’ve found is to practice the virtue of patience. Affiliate marketing is straightforward, which is nice, but it’s also a process. Results are an uphill battle, but once one gains enough traffic, especially via organic search, it’s lights-out. There’s going to be a lot of money to be made in any niche out there.
Hi Todd, Yes, you said it right, practice the virtue of patience. Organic traffic takes time and hard work but it’s a snowball effect once it’s established.
This is a very informative post. Anyone who wants to get into the online business world needs to take into consideration that it is important to be very dedicated and hardworking. This affiliate marketing sites you have listed here will only be productive if one can put in enough time. Like you have rightly said, when one wants to choose a niche it is important to look out for what is sellable and what are your interest, for me, I’d like to go into dating advice. I
Hi Henderson, Yeah dating niche is very good as well. Goodluck;)
You really said it well about mind set toward affiliate marketing,some thought is a fast-fast money,because i had once believe that,but now i got to know more concerning affiliate marketing that mindset, handwork, passion and even attitude are all required for success.I strongly agreed with your word that on Wealth niche Wealthy Affiliate is the best.Thank you for this article.
Hi Abayomi, Thank you and welcome.
This article was very informative, thank you for all the tips! I just got started in affiliate marketing and there were some programs that I was not aware of and will look into! Have you used ClickBank University? I noticed it when I signed up for their affiliate program but didn’t take the time to read about it. Is there a cost associated with it or is it a free resource? Did you find it useful if you were already pretty knowledgeable through Wealthy Affiliated training already?
Thanks so much for the help! Great site!
Hi Angela, Sad to say Clickbank universitycosts $47 with 2 different trainings, one is if you want to learn how to be a vendor and the other part of the course is for affiliates. Yes I have done the CBU trainings and I can say they concentrated more on becoming a vendor than the affiliate part. So that depends on what your goal is on the online business.
Hello,
This is a well-detailed article, explaining the process of Affiliate Marketing. I heard that people are making money through this type of online business. My question is: How can I learn about this opportunity?
Sometimes, if you do not know what to do you do not do it at all.
Is there any training or book?
Thank you
Hi Oana, good question, here are some free materials to get you started with affiliate marketing. I have went through all of it as we all need knowledge when doing any type of business. These are helpful so check it out.
Free affiliate book (just pay shipping fee), this book is worth more than the shipping fee you are paying,honestly!Free Affiliate Bootcamp, Affiliate marketing experts will teach you there methods.
There are so many ways to make money online with affiliate marketing that it’s not a matter of “if” but a matter of “how”. Most people think that they can make money fast and easy online and when that fails they consider affiliate marketing a scam which is a real shame because they cannot comprehend the power it has and how real it is. But as any other real business it needs huge determination, time and patience for it to become real.
With WA I found all the tools I needed to guide me in the right way and it’s one of the best platforms online if someone want to make their first steps. I would definitely give it a try if you are serious about affiliate marketing. I tried it and never looked back again…
Hi Stratos! Yes, you saud it right, I couldn´t agree more!
Great post!
Affiliate marketing is really awesome. I have been in this industry for a while now and I like it. Yes, it is not as easy as many people make it sound, it takes time and patience to achieve success. But once you achieve it you can really scale your business fast.
I like it because it gives me the opportunity to create many streams of income and to reach passive income is my goal. That is really what affiliate marketing can give if you work hard and scale it right. I took the time to learn it in wealthy affiliate and I still go back to some lesson to perfect my knowledge.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! and good to hear fellow affiliates who can relate to my post, Cheers mate!
Hi,
Thanks for sharing all the info for the Affiliate Program. I cannot agree more for the proper mindset you mentioned in this article since many of us used to think affiliate program is for quick money$$$. The proper mindset plays an important role in the affiliate journey, and it’s something we need to keep in mind for a long time.
I also resonated a lot with the last promoting part in this article, and thank you for mentioning some social-media platforms I never tried before. Overall speaking, I learned a lot from this article. Thank you so much.
Hi Matt, Thank you and welcome.
Also a premium member with Wealthy Affiliate and can say absolutely agree with this recommendation. This article provides a number of great options for beginners and experienced marketers alike. Whether your readers decide on learning through WA, Click funnels, Clickbank or John Crestani you have definitely put together some great options! Affiliate marketing is never get rich quick but is in no way insurmountable. Commit to daily progress you can make it happen 🙂
Absolutely right!:)
Thanks a lot for this details explanation on affiliate marketing. I actually already have a blog which I update on a weekly basis.
The problem is I’m not sure how to monetize this blog. I know that affiliate marketing is one of many ways to do it. But, never know how to begin. I’m going to do more research on Clickbank since I see many people use their platform. Do you have any suggestion which one is the best? My blog niche is health.
I bookmarked this page for future reference. Thanks a lot for taking your time and put all these together.
Thanks
Samm
Hi Samm, Clickbank has it´s own affiliate course, you can click here to learn more about it. One way to monetize your blog is by putting affiliate links of different products under your niche. You will find tons of health products on Clickbank, check the gravity of the product before you promote it. Good luck!
Affiliate marketing is a real way to breakthrough financial bondage in online business world, though it isn’t for someone in haste to get rich within few days of starting. It can be a way to financial freedom. Wealthy affiliate has been an amazing platform that offered a welcome atmosphere for any affiliate marketer that choose to use the platform. It is beginners friendly and veteran’s helpers. There are good support from the experts and the community at large. Clickbanks isn’t bad either but I don’t really know much about JVzoo and warrior plus.
You are right, to become a successful affiliate marketer their is need to get motivated. Motivation is the key and I could remember lack of motivation failed me once. Ever since I redefine my mindset, things has been going as I wanted. Many people wasted their time trying to build a niche that is not very easy to get along with. Our niche should be something we know about. It can be from what we love doing. This is a very educating review.
Thank you and welcome Stella
Yes, Clickbank is where I started in my affiliate marketing journey.
It is quite easy to make money doing this, but as you said, mindset is key. I spent hours online promoting products and became quite successful very quickly. But then I was spending at least 14 hours a day tweaking Google ads.
What I find is that in affiliate marketing nowadays, it is all too easy to have lots of add-on in your marketing strategy. For example, tracking software, social media schedulers, video creation, sales funnel creation, course creation, optin pages and autoresponders, etc.
Personally, I have decided to bite the bullet and stop using a whole load of add-ons and just sign up for Clickfunnels. I was spending that amount of money ($97 per month) if not more than that with all the extra bits that I was using to make my marketing strategy automated and seamless.
Clickfunnels is not expensive for what it offers. In fact it is very cheap!! But then, I have already had an inside look with an email series they sent me for free earlier this year. I am just tired of kicking tyres.
We all live to learn!
Hi Stella, Glad you´re liking Clickfunnels too as I do.:)
Excellent post. I especially love your emphasis on the right mindset. Very few people realise just how important it is but I agree with you completely. It’s as essential as everything else in your business. If your mindset is incorrect, it can actually break the business you wish to build.
I also appreciate your list of Affiliate Programmes. I’m not familiar with three of them and am now off to Google-land to have a quick look and discover what else they have.
Finally, can I just say that I love your disclaimer!
Thank you for a wonderful post. I’m happy I came across it.
Hi Kevin, Thank you and Welcome.
Affiliate marketing is truly one of the best ways to make money online but just like you said it requires hard work and time. Honestly, I think that nearly everyone could succeed with affiliate marketing if people give it enough time. In my case, I started earning a regular income from affiliate marketing after 15 months, you should be prepared in the long path but it is very rewarding.
Hi Daniel, yeah, you said it right, it will take time but it is very rewarding.
I just loved reading this post because you told me very explicitly, in plain language, exactly what affiliate marketing is. I remember when I was new to the concept of affiliate marketing, I thought it sounded sort of scary, like something I wouldn’t understand. But that’s not the case. Anyone who is willing to can learn it, although the learning never really stops.
Also after reading your article, I don’t think I entered into affiliate marketing with the right mindset. I had tried platforms before that failed and I thought, “well, I probably won’t make any money, but maybe I’ll learn something.” I now know I have to turn that around. I have to believe in my niche and like you said, remember the reasons I decided to take the plunge in the first place. Thanks for your helpful and encouraging post. I’ve also signed on with Clickbank. Thank you!
Sue
Hi Sue, Thank you and welcome. I wish you luck on your affiliate journey!
Fond your post very is very engaging like the overral fact the you put your goals first you will get your success.a lot of people lack these attributes and tend lose out were they can achieve success.
Beging an entrepreneur is my area finding traffic easy has I got traffic feed to my website through facebook I recommend promoting affiliate program tips.they do work.
Hi Alex, Thank you and welcome. Good tip!
After looking for answers on the Internet, I’ve found out that creating my own website about my favorite topic and getting sponsored and commissioned for it is the best way to earn loads of money!
I’ve recently tried ClickBank but my request was declined because apparently, my country was flagged as fraudulent. Unlucky. So now, I have to use Amazon. I’ve heard about the downsides and I’m still trying to find a better alternative, but still useful.
I’ll try to other affiliate programs! Thank you.
Nick.
Sad to hear about that you are declined to join Clickbank. you can try other platforms though.
Thank you for your post and all the information that was included. I have been doing Affiliate marketing for a few months and have a few websites and it does take a lot of work. If you are not motivated to work and put effort into your business you will not succeed.
Affiliate marketing is not for everyone. Like you stated, it is not a get rich quick scheme, it takes time, research and work. If you need someone directing you and keeping you on task you might not want to work for yourself.
you gave a lot of good information in your post and directed us to a lot of good programs and resources. Thank you, again, for the information and your knowledge.
Thank you and welcome Myrna, Welcome to the affiliate world.:)
Great article on affiliate marketing…so many options to promote and get noticed. I’ve never heard of Clickbank before but it sounds like a great resource of possible affiliate promotional opportunities.
Thanks for going over the affiliate marketing mindset. It certainly not a get rich scheme but will take a lot of effort to get the process rolling. However I believe if you get a sound foundation and build upon it you will be rewarded.
Off to explore Clickbank…thanks!!
Good luck Tim, go ahead and explore Clickbank, surely there´s a lot of niches and products you can promote from there.
Your post contains a wealth of useful practical information on niches and the various available affiliate programs that I had not even heard of before…thank you for this information.
Choosing the right niche and affiliate program is important, but I agree that having the “proper mindset” is important if not the most important element to have and or develop for an affiliate business. And I think you have summed up this element very nicely when you say, “Most of all believe in yourself. Believe that you can do it, as the famous quote says that “You fail because you quit.”
Great post!
Exactly Christie, You fail because you quit as they say.:)