Affiliate marketing is often seen as a quick and easy hustle for anyone looking to make a passive income online. The reality is, however, somewhat different. There is a lot of skill involved in affiliate marketing. Successful affiliate sites can drive a lot of sales and earn huge sums in commission, but the vast majority barely earn enough to cover their web hosting costs. 

It takes time to build a successful affiliate marketing business. If you see this business model as your future, we have some top tips below. 

Choose the Right Affiliate Program(s)

There are many affiliate programs out there. Some pay higher commissions than others; others offer a recurring commission rather than a one-off payment. Popular options include:

• Bluehost
• Aweber
• Fiverr
• Wix
• Amazon Associates

Consider your options and weigh up the pros and cons. The best programs offer lifetime payouts, but vendors with great landing pages and quality products are always a top choice.

It is always better to diversify and work with more than one affiliate partner. This offers an extra layer of protection if one of your partners decides to slash its commission rates or doesn’t pay out one month. This way, you won’t end up out of pocket with bills to pay. 

Create Quality Content

Quality content is critical if you want to make money from affiliate marketing. Marketing is all about communicating. Content must convey the right information, be engaging, and contain strong calls to action. People aren’t going to click on affiliate links if the content is confusing and unpersuasive. 

Create content that answers a reader’s questions. Provide engaging and useful information. Don’t be too salesy; try and be objective about the products you are linking to. Offer as much information as possible so the reader can make an informed decision. 

Remember, it is much easier to get a realistic value of an affiliate website if it has a strong content strategy. 

Know Your Products

People are not going to click on affiliate links if you don’t have the right information. It is important to present your affiliate site as a valid source of factual information. You are selling yourself as an expert, to build trust. 

Focus on expert reviews of the products you are targeting. For example, if you want to work with a sportswear brand, write reviews of their products. Comprehensive reviews of running shoes, for example, will help people make an informed buying decision. The more information you provide in your reviews, the better. 

Build Trust

Trust is a very important factor in the success of an affiliate marketing website. It affects whether people will click on links and also how much your website is worth if you decide to eventually sell it. 

If readers don’t trust what you say, they’re not going to click on an affiliate link and buy the product. Because of this, you must be open and disclose all affiliate links in the content you create. Be clear if you are earning commission for a product you’re writing about. 

You must also be honest in the reviews you post. It is okay to post negative content if a product doesn’t meet your expectations. This makes your reviews appear more genuine. 

Don’t sign up for an affiliate program and agree to promote products you don’t believe in. This is a pointless exercise. If you’re not sure which products to work with, try and few out, write some comprehensive reviews, and then choose the best one. For example, you could do some comparisons of web hosting providers and then sign up with the affiliate programs linked to the top companies. That way you have confidence in what they sell and are likely to be more persuasive when writing content. 

Finally, work on your social media presence. Use your social channels to promote content with affiliate links and share discount codes. People will often click through links in social media content if they like what they read.