Affiliate marketing is a 17 billion dollar industry and will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. As such, every developer is looking at how they can make money with affiliate marketing as fast as possible.

Luckily, there are ways to make money quickly with affiliate marketing if you already have an established audience. That said, if you are starting a website from scratch, the prospects of making money fast are almost non-existent.

Affiliate marketing relies on linking your large audience to a product or service within your niche. When done correctly, some of your audience will buy that product or service, and you will receive a small commission.

The bigger the audience, the better the odds you will be able to capitalize.

With that said, let’s take a look at how you can make money as fast as possible with affiliate marketing.

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is the process where a business will offer incentives to other sites or influencers (affiliates) for sharing their product with their audience. In return, the affiliates get a small commission for every purchase made by using a set link or code.

The process is very simple and can be extremely lucrative for both sides.

Normally, a business would pay for ad space on platforms like Google, Facebook, and so on with the hopes that users see the ad and interact. While this is effective, affiliate marketing presents businesses with better results.

This is because influencers will create their own ad to promote the product, which is likely to resonate with their specific audiences, thus resulting in higher engagement. And influencers can create these ads in a variety of ways.

For example, one of the most prominent places you will see this is on YouTube. Most content creators get paid to advertise a product or service and include a link or discount code in the description. They get paid every time someone uses them.

Of course, this isn’t exclusive to video content. Many blogs will write product reviews that include an affiliate link at the end. This way, they can tell the user all about the product and entice them to buy it if they like it.

How to Make Money Fast with Affiliate Marketing

Generally speaking, affiliate marketing is rather simple. You sign up with a company to become an affiliate, share that affiliate link with your audience, and hopefully profit.

Yet, nothing is ever as simple as it appears. Depending on the platform, it can get a bit convoluted.

Trying to get someone to click on a link and spend money in 2024 is not easy. Most visitors are on guard to avoid this type of content, which is why you are going to need to put in some effort to make it work.

Step 0: Build a Following

To be successful at affiliate marketing, you need a following. There’s no getting away from this, and building one takes time.

As such, this is the real first step. You need to have an audience to whom you can market the product or service. And if I’m being realistic, you need a sizeable one to make any significant amount of money from this.

While building up an audience, you need to make sure you are building a great reputation that people can trust. Affiliate marketing relies heavily on people trusting you, thus if you fail to achieve this, you will have a hard time convincing users to buy something.

The following steps are built around the assumption that you already have an audience in place, whether it’s on social media or through a blog.

Step 1: Understand Your Audience

The first thing you need to consider is the interests of your audience. Affiliate marketing relies heavily on putting a product your audience is already likely interested in right in front of them.

As such, understanding what your audience likes is vital. For example, if you have a website dedicated to cooking, you probably won’t have any luck trying to push a VPN service to your audience.

However, you would be in a really good position to push cookware, recipe books, oven mitts, and so on. Anyone on a site about cooking will be interested in equipment that can help them cook.

It’s easy to see why knowing your audience is important, but the real question is how to figure out their interests.

There are several ways you can collect this information. The first, and probably most obvious, is to check out what content does well on your site. Do you notice that a specific content topic does better than another?

If so, your user base probably prefers that topic, so finding an affiliate deal you can advertise makes a lot of sense. A more direct approach is to just ask your audience what kind of content they want to see.

Creating a poll or survey for your audience in WordPress is easy and many users will give feedback, especially if they want to see more of a certain kind of content. Understanding your audience is vital to all aspects of your website, so be sure to research it.

Step 2: Find or Embrace A Niche

Once you know what your audience is interested in, it is time to zone in on a niche within that topic. You may have heard that diversifying the content you offer is a good practice, which it is, but when it comes to affiliate marketing, niches are your best friend.

This is because it is much easier to find products or services your audience is interested in when you focus your efforts on a single topic.

Let’s start with the basics, niche content is content built around a singular topic, which is usually a smaller part of a larger topic. This content targets a specific audience that is interested in that niche and all content related to it.

For example, take a broad topic like reading. Making reading recommendations is a great way to market new books to your audience. However, it’s no secret that readers typically favor a certain genre like fantasy or sci-fi.

A niche would be focusing on one of those genres within the broader topic.

You would be in a better position to advertise new books to your readers and merch related to those titles if it exists.

For instance, The Lord of the Rings is still one of the most popular fantasy franchises to ever exist. Covering this franchise would allow you to recommend merch related to it, collector book sets, and more. And you can branch out to other books or franchises within the genre.

This makes it much easier to find affiliate partners.

Step 3: Find Affiliate Programs to Partner With

Now that you have an idea of what your audience likes, it’s time to find an affiliate program that sells what they like. Choosing an affiliate program can directly affect how long it takes to make money with affiliate marketing.

There are several key factors you need to keep in mind when selecting one.

The first is the conversion rate. Some products or services are just more likely to sell, and when you are focused on making money fast, choosing a program that has a high conversion rate is critical.

This doesn’t just come down to the products, Things like if the business works with a platform like PayPal that allows customers to quickly process their payment are also a factor. The fewer barriers there are, the more likely a sale is made.

Next, you want to ensure that the business is trustworthy. You may have found an excellent affiliate program, but if it’s from a brand that no one knows on a shady website, it’s not gonna do very well.

A great example would be Amazon. Nearly anyone who uses the internet knows what Amazon is and that it is safe to buy products from them. They also have fast shipping options that ensure shoppers get their goods in a few days.

This makes users more likely to purchase from an affiliate link from them. Now, there are two main ways that you can find an affiliate program, so let’s go over both of them.

Manually Search For One

The most obvious way to find an affiliate program is to search for one. Most companies have some form of affiliate program, regardless of whether they are big or small.

Keeping with the same example, if you were to visit the Amazon Associates web page, you can go through the signup process. In this case, it can take somewhere between 1 and 3 days before Amazon approves you to be a partner.

Every program is unique, thus the time can vary. Some are quicker than Amazon, while others are longer.

It’s worth pointing out that some companies are very exclusive with their affiliate program. Some programs may decline to work with you if you fail to meet certain criteria. Others may not make the program public and reach out to you.

One of the nice things about manually finding an affiliate is the payout. A lot of companies are open to negotiation, especially if you have a large enough following that can prove lucrative to both of you.

Use Affiliate Marketing Networks

An Affiliate Marketing Network is essentially a hub where brands can look for partners to advertise their products, or for partners to look for brands they can advertise. There are dozens of these platforms, and they can significantly help speed up the process.

Most of them allow you to search for brands based on a category like fitness, cooking, beauty, and so on. One of the more well-known networks to use is Impact. It has a great interface and a lot of brands to choose from.

It’s important to mention that many affiliate marketing networks are not free to use. However, most make their money directly from affiliated sales, so it doesn’t cost you anything upfront.

They act as a middleman, but if you are looking to speed up the search, they are a great tool that can help you connect with brands.

Step 4: Optimize Your Content For Affiliate Marketing

Once you are part of a program and are ready to start adding affiliate links to your site, you need to understand that you can’t just drop a random link to a product and expect users to follow it. Instead, you need to start building content around these links.

Now, there are several ways to go about this so I will cover some of the more popular options.

Product Reviews

95% of customers read an online review before making a purchase. Naturally, this makes affiliate links within a product review on your site a great choice. The goal should be to accurately describe a product that can lead a customer to use the link.

If you can build up a reputation within a niche, you can become a trusted source for product recommendations within that community. That said, this relies heavily on you choosing quality products to promote.

Let’s face it, if you reviewed a product and said it was horrible, would anyone buy it? Probably not. Sometimes this happens, and being honest is important in a review because users become warry about your reviews when you recommend a bad product.

Coupon Areas

Everyone is always looking for a deal, and in some cases, affiliate programs act more like providing coupons to users. For example, you may get 50% off your first order if you use a certain code, or just get free shipping.

Building a coupon page that contains all of your affiliate deals in a single location is a really good tactic. There are entire sites dedicated to just offering users discount codes online that are funded purely by the affiliate income.

Just be sure to refresh any deals. Sometimes the promotional code has an expiration date and users can find a different one if yours does not work. Essentially, you lose a sale every time one fails.

Email Marketing

Email marketing remains one of the most effective marketing strategies a website can use. Naturally, this makes it a great option for affiliate marketing as you can include affiliate links in an email.

In most cases, the affiliate product will be a small section within the email. Remember, users didn’t sign up to be bombarded with affiliate products in their email, so they should never be the primary focus.

A great tactic is to create a “My Weekly Picks” area, or something to that effect, in the email that can be used to show a product you like. You can include an affiliate link or a link to your review of the product.

Show the Product In Use

Perhaps one of the simplest ways to promote an affiliate product is to use it. For example, if you run a cooking blog, make sure all of your images contain the cookware you are partnering with in use.

At the end of every post, you can include the affiliate link telling users that they can get the same cooking ware by using this affiliate link. Also, be sure to mention that it helps you produce more content, so users feel more inclined to use the link.

Or perhaps you run a podcast. You may have a partnering deal with a headphone company, be sure to wear those headphones to show them off. There’s a reason product placement in movies is so important, and affiliate marketing is no different.

Use Social Media

Virtually all businesses today have social media accounts on platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, and more. They allow companies to reach a wider audience than their websites ever could.

These platforms all support affiliate links, although each platform has its own rules that you must follow. Refer to their documentation to learn what is allowed on the platform and what isn’t, as a violation can get you banned.

As such, creating tweets or posts about a product that includes an affiliate link is very common, so go for it. Just make sure you have a lot of other content to engage users. After all, no one is going to follow an account that only releases updates or affiliate posts.

Step 5: Optimize the Way You Deliver Content

One of the most important aspects of any affiliate marketing strategy is the call to action (CTA). The CTA is essentially telling the customer to do an action. This can be simple like signing up for a newsletter or purchasing a product.

Have you ever noticed a site that you visit one day and see some form of a CTA and the next day see a different one for the same product? Well, that is called A/B testing, and most sites today utilize it to optimize their content delivery.

Let’s face it, creating a successful CTA is difficult, and a lot of your affiliate marketing relies on it.

As such, if you want to make money fast with affiliate marketing, you need to quickly optimize your CTA to increase the number of clicks you get. A/B testing allows you to do just that.

On a simple level, you create multiple CTAs to use on your site, and you then set up A/B testing where different users will see one of those CTAs. You can then collect that data and see which CTA is the most popular.

The more engagement a CTA gets, the higher the chance someone will make a purchase using an affiliate link on your site. Then, you simply discard the one that isn’t working out.

Step 6: Increase Your Traffic

I mentioned right at the start you need a large audience to be successful with affiliate marketing. When it comes to speeding up your growth, optimizing your site for search engines will not cut it in such a competitive market.

Instead, many sites will invest in PPC or paid advertisement to grow their audience as fast as possible. This is not cheap, but if you want to grow quickly, there is no better way.

What is PPC you ask? Well, simply put, it’s buying ad space to advertise your website to a wider audience. This can help you grow much faster than waiting for your site to rank high naturally.

With this said, it doesn’t mean you should ignore SEO. Optimizing your site for search engines is a great way to naturally grow your audience. It is especially helpful to have high-ranking pages that have affiliate links in them, as they are more likely to make a sale.

Creating great content that ranks well also means that other sites are more likely to link to your site. This can help improve your authority and increase your traffic. In fact, link trading is another great tactic to grow fast.

Continuous growth is critical for you to continue reaching new users, which allows you a better chance at making sales.

Why You Should Consider Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a booming industry that continues to grow, with spending surpassing $8 billion in 2022 and expected to reach $27.78 billion by 2027. This growth is driven by low-cost entry and high potential returns, making it an attractive option for content creators and businesses alike.

One of the key strategies for successful affiliate marketing is to launch your affiliate site with existing content.

Stacey MacNaught, an experienced affiliate marketer, emphasizes the importance of having a substantial amount of content before going live. Her team typically creates 20-plus pieces of content before launching a site, ensuring a strong foundation for attracting and retaining an audience.

Diversifying affiliate partners is another crucial strategy. By partnering with multiple brands, marketers can spread their risk and increase their chances of earning commissions. This approach also allows for the promotion of a wider range of products, catering to different audience preferences.

Owning the relationship with your audience is vital. Building trust and providing valuable content can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates. Disclosing affiliate links and sharing discount codes are effective ways to maintain transparency and offer added value to your audience.

Social media platforms play a significant role in affiliate marketing. TikTok, for instance, has emerged as a top platform for income generation, with its Creator Fund paying creators based on views and engagement levels.

Instagram, while not offering direct payments for views, allows influencers to earn through sponsored content and affiliate links, with potential earnings ranging from 1 cent to 5 cents per 1,000 views.

The average affiliate marketer earns around $8,038 per month, with some generating six-figure monthly incomes. However, earnings can vary widely based on factors such as niche, audience size, and marketing strategies.

For example, business-related affiliate programs tend to offer higher commissions compared to those for books or clothing.

Affiliate marketing can be particularly profitable in certain niches. Education/E-Learning, Travel, and Beauty/Skincare are among the most lucrative niches, with high demand and substantial commissions.

On the other hand, niches with lower conversion rates may require more effort to achieve similar results.

Real-life case studies highlight the potential of affiliate marketing. The website “This Is Why I’m Broke” earns over $20,000 per month from Amazon affiliate links, demonstrating the power of high traffic and effective monetization strategies.

Another example is “Money to the Masses,” which generates significant revenue from financial product affiliate commissions by regularly updating content and leveraging YouTube videos for SEO.

Statistics show that affiliate marketing is responsible for 16% of all internet orders in the U.S., with 81% of brands using affiliate programs to boost brand awareness and drive sales[4]. This highlights the effectiveness of affiliate marketing in generating revenue and expanding reach.

The average annual income for an affiliate marketer is $54,251, with 10% earning over $73,000 annually. This demonstrates the potential for substantial earnings, although it also underscores the variability in income levels within the industry.

Affiliate marketing is not without its challenges. The industry is highly competitive, and success often requires a long-term commitment and continuous learning.

For instance, SEO is a critical component of affiliate marketing, with 78.3% of affiliate marketers using it as their primary traffic source. However, SEO can be complex and time-consuming, requiring ongoing optimization and adaptation to algorithm changes.

Despite these challenges, the future of affiliate marketing looks promising. Experts predict an annual growth rate of 7.7% between 2024 and 2030, driven by increasing adoption and the effectiveness of affiliate marketing in driving sales and brand awareness.

This growth is further supported by the rising popularity of social media platforms and the increasing number of content creators entering the industry.

Affiliate Marketing FAQ

Affiliate marketing is a complicated subject, as such, I’m sure you still have some questions.

Here are some of the most frequently asked:

Start Affiliate Marketing Today And Make Money

Affiliate marketing is a powerful way for websites to passively make income by including links to products or services your user base will find useful. Luckily, it is not overly complicated to implement on your website.

That said, the time it takes to generate money varies wildly. Some websites can have overnight success, but in most cases, that won’t happen. Usually, only 1-5% of your traffic will ever purchase a product or service through an affiliate link.

As such, increasing your total traffic can help boost your earning potential exponentially. Do not get discouraged if you do not find success overnight. Like most things, even if you do everything right, it can still take some time.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful in learning how to make money faster with affiliate marketing.

How long did it take you to earn your first dollar from affiliate marketing?