Affiliate marketing is all the rage these days and everyone wants to do it.
The problem is, there is so much nonsense floating around the internet that most people are confused, overwhelmed, and don’t know where to start.
So, with this quick post, I am going to break down the steps you need to take to get started with affiliate marketing as quickly as possible.
The key is to avoid overthinking, and just take action.
Ready?
Let’s do it!
Step #1 – Figure Out Who You Want To Serve
You will often hear people refer to this as finding your niche. I prefer to say find the person you want to serve.
And in most cases, the person you want to serve is your younger self.
Think about where you are now, and the journey that you are currently on in an effort to reach your goal.
There are probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of other people on that same journey trying to reach that same goal.
As you learn more about what it is you are trying to do, start sharing it online.
Or, if you already have a ton of knowledge about a particular topic, start sharing information that would’ve helped your younger self.
It could be via a YouTube channel, via a blog, or an Instagram account. It really doesn’t matter what platform you choose.
Just set it up and start sharing.
This is how you will start to build your audience.
Step #2 – Find A Product To Promote
Step one is all about building your audience. Because without an audience, you can’t make money.
But even if you have an audience, if you don’t have anything to sell them, then you still won’t make any money.
So the second step is to find a product to promote.
I recommend you have a product to promote on day one. Don’t wait until you have a certain number of followers.
You can find products to promote from a variety of different places including Muncheye.com, Clickbank, Share a Sale, Commission Junction, and Amazon.
Step #3 – Start Building Your List
Just like you should know what product you want to promote on day one, you should also start building your list on day one.
Your list is your most valuable asset. It is the one thing that will turn your affiliate marketing business into an actual business, and not just a money maker.
A money maker can go out of business at the first sign of trouble. A real business on the other hand can stand the test of time because of its assets.
What most people fail to understand is that they don’t own their social media followers.
That means if your account should get banned, which happens more often than you think, you may find yourself out of business overnight.
To avoid this, start building your list from day one.
In order to build your list you will need to sign up for an ESP such as Systeme.io.
You can use the service for free up to 2000 subscribers. You also get unlimited email sends which makes it perfect for a complete beginner.
And if you want to set up a blog, they offer that too.
However, once your blog starts to grow, I recommend switching over to wordpress hosting.
This way your blog will be another asset that you own.
The key to building your list is giving away something of value in exchange for an email address.
It could be a free report, a webinar, an eCourse, or anything else that your target audience would find valuable.
Now in order to give away your free offer, you will need to set up a landing page, which can be done in as little as 10 minutes, and can be done using Systeme.io.
Here is an example of a simple landing page. In it I just used the sales message as the lead magnet.
Step #4 – Get Traffic
Traffic is simply the people, or visitors, that will visit your landing page. Always send traffic to the landing page and not directly to the affiliate offer.
Doing so will allow you to build your list so you can continue to promote offers to your list over the long term.
Now in order to get traffic you have 2 options….
You can either use paid traffic, or organic traffic.
If you are just starting out I recommend organic traffic as the only requirement is your time.
Organic traffic takes more time than paid traffic. However, it is the type of traffic that can keep producing for years to come.
One of the fastest organic ways to start generating traffic is by writing review posts.
Find hot products in your niche that have just launched and start writing reviews. You can also write “How To” posts, and comparison posts.
Step #5 – Take Action
Now it’s time to take action. Don’t overthink it.
Just get to work. You will learn as you go, and you will get better.
If you are looking for a step by step plan that goes into more detail, check out the Affiliate Marketing Blueprint.
In it you will get access to a step by step plan that shows you the exact steps you need to take to go from zero to your first affiliate commission.