How to become an affiliate marketer: 5 steps to success

Ever wondered how influencers, bloggers, and even everyday people turn their online presence into a steady income stream? Say hello to affiliate marketing.

Here’s how it works: You promote products you love, and every time someone makes a purchase through your unique link, you earn a commission. No need to create your own product or handle customer service—just share what excites you!

Affiliate marketing can be a game-changer whether you’re a blogger, YouTuber, or a newbie. To back this up, according to research, the average affiliate marketer earns around $8,038 per month, proving just how lucrative this side hustle can be!

Hence, we’ve broken down how to become an affiliate marketer into five simple steps, from choosing your niche to optimizing your links so you can start earning in no time. 

By the end of this blog, you’ll have everything you need to kickstart your affiliate marketing journey. So, grab a cup of coffee, and let’s get to it!

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing model where you, as an affiliate, promote someone else’s products or services. In return, you earn a commission when people take specific actions (usually a sale or a lead) through your marketing efforts.

It’s one of the most accessible and low-risk ways to start making money online because you don’t need to create products or manage inventory; you just need to focus on promotion. 

The win-win?

It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement. As a marketer, you’re helping businesses expand their reach while being rewarded for your promotional efforts. 

Where to find affiliate programs?

There are three main ways to find affiliate programs.

Ways to find affiliate programs	Description
Affiliate platform	Process: Browse their “Merchants” section, and explore options based on categories. Example: AvantLink, Commission Junction (CJ), Impact Radius, ShareASale
Google search	Process: Search for “[company name] affiliate program” to find their sign-up page. Example: Quick search for “Replug affiliate program” will direct you to their page, where you can easily apply.
Direct outreach	Process: Call the company’s customer service or marketing team and pitch your idea to promote their products for a commission. Example: Small businesses may be open to starting an affiliate program if they see the potential benefits.

Here’s a screenshot of what searching “Replug affiliate program” on Google search engine looks like:

5 steps to become an affiliate marketer

To succeed in affiliate marketing, it’s important to understand that it’s not just about sharing affiliate links. Building a solid foundation will set you up for long-term success. Here are five crucial steps to guide you in the right direction:

Step 1: Choose your niche and target audience

Choosing a niche is the first and most critical step in your affiliate marketing journey. Your niche defines what products you will promote and who your target audience is. A niche is a focused market, like tech gadgets, beauty, health, fitness, or travel. The more specific your niche, the more you can tailor your content to meet your audience’s needs.

For example, instead of just promoting general fitness products, you could focus on a specific sub-niche like home workout equipment for busy professionals or vegan supplements for athletes. A well-defined niche helps you stand out and build a dedicated audience that trusts your recommendations. 

Here’s how Justice Buys, a leading Amazon content creator and affiliate marketer, earns a commission by promoting products to Amazon buyers:

How to choose the right niche:

• Identify your passions or areas of interest.
• Assess the demand and profitability of the niche (use tools like Google Trends).
• Evaluate the competition—make sure there’s space for your voice.

Once you’ve picked your niche, it’s time to identify your target audience. Are they beginners or experienced? What are their pain points, and what solutions are they looking for?

Step 2: Analyze the competition

Understanding the competition helps you position yourself strategically. Look at other affiliate marketers in your niche. What are they doing well? What’s missing from their content? Are there areas where you can improve?

Check out popular blogs, social media accounts, and YouTube channels that cover your niche. What affiliate products are they promoting? What content formats are they using? This research helps you understand how you can differentiate yourself and bring something fresh to the table.

Competition analysis tools:

• SEMrush for competitor keyword research.
• BuzzSumo to discover popular content and topics.
• SimilarWeb to analyze competitor traffic sources.

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Step 3: Select the right affiliate programs

Choosing the right affiliate programs can make or break your success. You don’t want to promote products you don’t believe in, or that don’t resonate with your audience. Ideally, your affiliate products should align with your niche and audience’s needs.

Some key factors to consider when selecting affiliate programs:

• Commission rate: How much will you earn per sale? Some affiliate programs offer a one-time payment, while others offer recurring commissions (which are great for long-term income).
• Cookie duration: This refers to how long you’ll receive a commission after a customer clicks on your affiliate link. A longer cookie duration is preferable.
• Product quality: Make sure the products you promote are high quality, as your reputation as a trusted marketer is on the line.

Popular affiliate programs include:

• Amazon Associates (great for a wide range of products)
• ShareASale (offers diverse merchants across multiple industries)
• ClickBank (digital products with high commissions)

Mind-blowing fact (and stat): Around 75,659 companies are using the Amazon Associates affiliate program!

It’s that’s not your cue to become an affiliate marketer… why, just why?

Step 4: Build your marketing platform

Your marketing platform is the space where you’ll share your affiliate content. Whether it’s a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, or social media account, you need a platform to connect with your audience and deliver value. You don’t need to be everywhere; focus on the platforms your audience frequents most.

Ways to build your platform:

• Start a blog: A blog gives you control over your content and audience. Create long-form posts, product reviews, tutorials, and guides. Use SEO to rank your content and attract organic traffic.
• YouTube: Create video content with affiliate links in the description. Videos work great for product demonstrations, reviews, and tutorials.

Here’s an example of how Nikki La Rose, a famous beauty YouTuber influencer. She writes down multiple affiliate links to the products she uses in her YouTube videos.

• Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest are visual platforms where you can promote affiliate products using affiliate links in your bio or story swipe-ups.

Check out how El Peterson, a popular content creator and affiliate marketer, links her Instagram bio with her Amazon Storefront.

You might also like: How to increase sales on Amazon

Step 5: Craft engaging content

Now comes the fun part—creating content! Affiliate marketing is all about providing value through content that informs, educates, and entertains. Whether you’re writing blog posts, creating videos, or sharing social media updates, always prioritize quality content that meets your audience’s needs.

For instance, let’s say you’re promoting fitness products. Instead of simply adding an affiliate link in a post saying “Buy this product,” create content that helps your audience solve a problem. 

Content should always feel authentic and trustworthy. People are more likely to click on your affiliate links if they feel they can trust your recommendations.

How to become an affiliate marketer with Replug

Now that you know the basics of affiliate marketing, let’s talk about how you can streamline your process using Replug for shortening and managing your affiliate links.

Steps to get started with Replug:

1. Go to Replug’s website and click on “Affiliate marketing program” in the Resources dropdown.
2. Access the affiliate program page and click on “Become a Replug affiliate” button.
3. Register for an account or sign in if you already have an account.
4. Complete the application form
5. Add in all the necessary information and click “Update”. 
6. Access your affiliate dashboard and add in the payout method.
7. Track performance
8. Get paid!

For detailed steps, check out: How to sign up for the Replug affiliate program?

Advantages of using Replug:

• Link shortening: Make your affiliate links clean and more appealing, improving click-through rates.
• Link cloaking: Protect your affiliate links from looking spammy, increasing click-through rates.
• Custom branding: Reinforce your brand’s identity by customizing your links with branded domains.
• Analytics: Get detailed performance tracking, such as click tracking and geotargeting, giving you insights into which links perform the best.
• Bio links: Share multiple affiliate offers on a single landing page and direct your audience there via a simple bio link.
• QR codes: Quickly generate a custom QR code for your affiliate links. This way, your followers can quickly scan your code, and upon making a purchase, you earn a commission.
• Cross-platform integration: Integrate with social media, email campaigns, and other platforms so your links perform better everywhere.
• Branded links: Turn generic affiliate links into branded links that are more clickable and trustworthy.
• Link retargeting: Retarget users who clicked on your affiliate links but didn’t convert, driving them back to your offers.

Track and optimize your affiliate links

Tracking and optimization are key to affiliate marketing success. Replug’s powerful analytics allow you to monitor every aspect of your links’ performance. You can see which pages, social media posts, or marketing strategies are driving the most traffic.

Here’s how you can track and optimize your affiliate links effectively:

• A/B testing: Replug allows you to test different versions of your affiliate links to determine which one performs better.
• Click tracking: See which links get the most clicks and optimize your content strategy to focus on high-converting links.
• Optimize for SEO: Replug’s custom URL features also help improve your SEO by ensuring your affiliate links are clean, readable, and keyword-optimized.
• UTM builder: You can add UTM parameters to your affiliate links using Replug. This way, you can track the performance of your affiliate campaign depending on the UTM medium that you choose.

Conclusion

Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn passive income by promoting products you love and believe in. With the right approach, it can be a lucrative and sustainable business model. By following the steps in this guide, choosing the right affiliate programs, and optimizing your efforts using tools like Replug, you can maximize your affiliate marketing success.

FAQs on how to become an affiliate marketer