How to Get Started with Affiliate Marketing

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1. Choose Your Affiliate Marketing Model

First, you’ll have to decide whether you want to earn a commission when someone purchases a product through your link (PPS), when someone clicks on your affiliates (PPC), or when referred visitors provide their contact information (PPL).

2. Affiliate Program or Network?

Next, you’ll want to find and join an affiliate program or network that aligns with your niche. Once you’ve signed up, you can choose products or services to promote that resonate with your audience. Make sure you always select items you genuinely recommend so you stay authentic and trustworthy to your audience!

Depending on where you are in your blogging journey, you might choose to work through individual affiliate programs or an overall network. There are benefits to both! We deep dive into the specifics of affiliate networks and programs in our Ultimate Blogging Masterclass.

Affiliate Networks

Affiliate marketing networks are large platforms that have multiple affiliate programs in one place, acting as intermediaries between affiliates, like you and us, and merchants, the companies whose products you’re promoting. Examples of well-known affiliate networks include Awin, Impact, Partnerize, and ShareASale.

Joining one of these networks means you’ll have a single dashboard with all your affiliates in one place rather than having to communicate with multiple partners. This is perfect for beginners to affiliate marketing! However, commission rates are typically a bit lower.

Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs, on the other hand, are directly managed by the companies themselves, like Booking.com, Amazon, HelloFresh, and GetYourGuide. These typically offer higher commission rates as no middleman is taking a cut (affiliate networks). 

The best way to find affiliate programs that suit you is to search for the brand name + affiliate program on Google. The brand will either let you sign up for their program directly or through one of the networks mentioned before. Unlike via a network, it takes a bit longer to reach your payout threshold, so with a small blog, this may take a bit more time.

Cookies are information sent to your browser every time you visit a website. It records crucial data, like how long you spent browsing on that particular site or your preferences. These cookies usually have an ‘active period’, which varies depending on the site.

Cookie duration is an essential part of blogger affiliate marketing, but it’s often overlooked! It means that when a user clicks on your link, a cookie is placed on their browser. If they then purchase within the cookie’s active period, you earn a commission.

Once you’ve joined an affiliate program or network like the ones mentioned earlier, you can generate your unique affiliate link.

Lastly, strategically place your affiliate links in your blog posts. While it’s tempting to fill your page with as many affiliate links as possible, you have to balance your monetization efforts with quality content. 

Too many affiliate links can make your page look overly promotional or commercialized. In fact, you’re more likely to convert if you prioritize the reader’s experience and trust. The more traffic you then drive to your blog, the higher the chances are that visitors will click on your links

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