How Do I Become an Affiliate Marketer?


Have you ever recommended a restaurant to a friend, and they really enjoyed the experience? Or have you ever recommended a product or service to your close friends that you are passionate about? If the answer is yes, then congratulations! You are already an affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketing, in simple terms, means recommending products or services of various brands to your followers on social media. You will now receive a commission if any of your followers use your link or the code to purchase the product or service from the company.

In this article, we will be diving deep into the concept of affiliate marketing, what an affiliate marketer does, and how to become an affiliate marketer.

Concept of Affiliate Marketing and Social Media

With technology coming into the market and our daily lives, everything has changed. Businesses are now operating on a different level. Gone are the days when businesses used to use personal selling techniques or advertise their products extensively in newspapers and magazines. Companies today are leveraging social media to advertise and sell their products. Affiliate marketing has gained a lot of importance today because more than 4.7 billion people are on social media sites throughout the world and are using them to connect with brands, buy products, and share their reviews. The affiliate marketers have not developed their own products or are holding inventory, and all that they do is promote the products to their fan base and motivate them to purchase them.

What Does an Affiliate Marketer Do?

  • An affiliate marketer will, first of all, gather all the information regarding the product that they would want to purchase or are thinking of purchasing or recommending to their followers.

  • After gathering the information, they will be comparing similar or identical products from the competitors to decide on the best brand and product.

  • After they have decided upon the brand and the product, they will shoot videos or create blog posts about their experience with the brand. The content the affiliate marketers generally create is unique and created by themselves.

  • They launch this content on different social media platforms for the viewers to consume it. The affiliate marketer will get a commission on each sale. They have no inventory and have made minimal investments. In general, companies will give certain discounts to customers if they use the affiliate marketer's code to track the number of units sold by that affiliate marketer.

Who Are Affiliate Marketers?

Affiliate marketers are no one but experts who are passionate. The fan base of affiliate marketers is well aware of their lives and seeks a personal connection with them. Consumers are always updated about their lives. Consumers generally trust the brand and the product being advertised because they are connected to the affiliate marketer. And this personal connection is the main reason for affiliate marketing's success.

How to Become an Affiliate Marketer?

There are simple steps that need to be followed by an individual if he or she wants to enter the affiliate marketing industry, and they are −

  • Choose a niche − What will set you apart from the crowd is something that you are passionate about, and this passion will be your niche. It could be anything under the sun, and by anything, we mean anything. We have seen creators—recording news, sharing positive thoughts, drawing illustrations, becoming food bloggers, travel bloggers, writers, singers, comedians, and others—become famous overnight. Your niche should be something unique. You have to understand that the main weapon of an affiliate marketer is their fan base, and people will only be attracted to you if you have something to say that they can enjoy and relate to. Consumers buy television sets, radio sets, OTT channels, and others to entertain themselves and not to watch ads. Your niche will help you determine your target audience and create relevant content. Some questions you can ponder while deciding your domain of expertise are −

    • Is this something that I am passionate about?

    • Would I enjoy this type of content if someone posted it? Do not be biased.

    • Who are my competitors, and what can I do differently from them and others?

  • Evaluate market demand − You could have a niche, but there are slim chances that it is not a product that consumers would want to purchase. After deciding on the type of content you want to create, it is important to check the market demand for the same. You can use Google Trends and other similar applications to determine market demand or, for example, how many times people searched for such keywords in a specific timeline in a geographical area. For example, you could search for keywords like "home bakers," "bakery shops near me," and "freshly baked" when you are planning to open a bakery.

  • Analyze Competition − After understanding the demand in the market, it is important for affiliate marketers to understand how many existing marketers are providing them with the same solutions. You can use applications like "Ubersuggest" to see what the competition is for a particular keyword and what the ad price is for using that keyword. Keywords in Ubersuggest are rated from 0 to 1, with 1 representing the highest level of competition.

  • Understanding your channel − After you have decided upon your niche and understood the market and the competition, it is time for you to decide upon the channel that you are going to use to live stream your content. These channels again depend on your target audience. For example, Instagram is an amazing medium for targeting consumers in the age group of 14–35; Snapchat targets consumers between 14–25; and others.

  • Designing your page − After you have decided upon the channel, you have to make an account, create a website, or run ads as per your understanding of the product and the market. It is important for you to decide upon the domain name and handle name and add pictures and videos as per your understanding. It is very important for you to design an interactive page or account to attract viewers.

  • Publish your content − After everything is set up, you can start uploading your content and gaining likes, comments, and sales. It is crucial to make your content interactive and unique. Always view your content from the viewer’s point of view to see if it is engaging enough to hold their attention. You can start various collaborations, but in order for them to be successful, you must be passionate about them. 

You can become an affiliate marketer with nothing just by following the above-mentioned steps, but certain points to keep in mind when you dive into the sea of affiliate marketing are

  • It is going to take time. If you think that with just four to six videos of yours, you can become a huge hit, Drop it today. It is going to be time-consuming, and you should have a never-give-up attitude.

  • Always create content that you believe in and that is sufficiently engaging. No one is here to help you sail or sell.

  • Keep improvising and revisiting the above-mentioned points to stay relevant in the market.

It is time to follow your passion.

Updated on: 27-Feb-2023

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