What do I need to become a Successful Affiliate Marketer

Mindset about success and work is extremely important when it comes to a business. It is possible to make a five figure, or even a six figure income with affiliate marketing, but it does not happen overnight. It comes with hard work and commitment, and you need to be patient and persistent, to learn how to make a passive income.

So before we delve into what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer, let’s have a look at what is affiliate marketing.

What is Affiliate Marketing and How Does it work? Affiliate marketing business model

Affiliate networks are dedicated platforms where product owners can connect with publishers or sellers and visa versa.

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance based marketing, where the affiliates are rewarded by a business for each customer or visitor that the affiliate brings to the business.

You, the affiliate, promote somebody else’s products or services and earn a commission when somebody that you have referred, makes a purchase. Affiliate marketing is a realistic way of earning money online or how to make a passive income online.

You can read more about affiliate marketing in this Related post: What is affiliate marketing?

What do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer.

These are the main steps that are needed to start as an affiliate marketer and build an affiliate marketing business.

  • Pick your niche.
  • Find your target audience – you need to know what your target market is looking for, to be reaching the right audience.
  • Choose a domain name.
  • Create your website (start for free).
  • Choose products to promote and search for affiliate programs.
  • Create content by writing blog posts and reviews
  • Optimize your content for SEO and learn how search engine optimization on websites are done
  • Time and motivation.
  • Rinse and repeat

Pick your Niche

The first step to start with what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer, is to pick your niche. A niche is the topic of your website and forms the foundation of your website.Chhosing a niche is a key part of how search engine optimization on a website is improved

It also refers to a group of people with a common interest. It is a segment or subcategory of a market and it focuses on providing solutions for a particular need. This could be a product or a service, or even a digital course.

Finding a niche can be confusing, but start with making a list of your passions and hobbies and anything that you are knowledgeable about. I have written a blog about how to choose a niche. You will find everything you need to know about niche picking, and how to narrow down a niche, in there. Related post: What is a niche for affiliate marketing?

Target Audience – Who is your Ideal Customer Avatar?

Decide who your ideal customer avatar is. Is your ideal client a parent of teenagers, or a retired school teacher, or a 35-year-old male that likes driving fast cars? You could be targeting eco warriors that want so save the world and free our oceans from plastic pollution and live a plastic free life. Or wildlife photographers that like camping. Your ideal customer avatar

A website is a resource for consumers and customers. If you know who your target audience is, you can create content on your website that will target your ideal customer avatar. Thus build credibility with your audience. Credibility builds trust and if your audience trust you, they are more likely to make a purchase from your website or e commerce store.

So offer products and services that will solve a problem for your audience, and you will turn them into customers.

Avoid these mistakes that many people make when they are defining their target market.

  • Target market too vague – hone in on your ideal customer.
  • Targeting tire kickers – people that find a million reasons why not to buy from you.
  • Targeting prospects that need to be converted – you need to target those that have desire, authority and funds to buy from you.
  • Trying to be everything to everyone – don’t make the mistake of thinking your target market is everyone.
  • Looking for your ideal customer in the wrong places – go to places where you can find your ideal prospects.

So when you are creating content and looking at products or services to promote, try to visualize your ideal customers and get to know who your audience is.

Choosing a Domain Name

A domain name is the identity of your website. Choosing a domain name can seem daunting, but start by writing down at least five words or phrases that would describe the niche or key topic of your website. Now start mixing them around to create a possible domain name.

Choose one that is memorable and sounds good. You can choose to pick a domain name that is more brandable. Brandable domain names are unique, memorable and catchy.

  • Google the name you have in mind, without the .com or other domain zones like .net or .org in it: Check what comes up in the Top 10 for this name.
  • Check availability for the name that you have in mind on social networks.
  • The domain extension .com is the best as it is considered the most trustworthy by search engines.
  • Avoid numbers and hyphens in the domain name as those would make it difficult to remember the domain name.
  • Keep it under fifteen characters as then it would be much easier to remember the domain name.
  • Try to include your focus keyword in the domain name
  • Say the name out loud a few times and share it with family and friends to make sure it is easy to repeat. Ask them to write down the name in the way that you hear it to make sure it makes sense.
  • Avoid being too specific in the domain name.

You can buy your domain name from companies like GoDaddy, Namecheap etc.  Or when you sign up for the free training on affiliate marketing with Wealthy Affiliate, you can buy a domain name through the Wealthy Affiliate platform. Most domains are priced at $13.99. Buy a domain at Wealthy AffiliateRelated post: Wealthy Affiliate an honest review from the inside.

Create a Website

Dreaming about having your own website? But you don’t know where to start? Picking the wrong website builder and host could become a nightmare rather than a joy. If you do not currently have a website and want to build one, then SiteRubix is the easiest and quickest way. Here you can start for free and build a website in a matter of minutes.

Related post: Read my review and get started with SiteRubix here.

Many affiliate programs want to see your website and that you have traffic to your website, before they will approve you. But don’t get disheartened, you can continue to create beautiful content and build out your website, and then apply for affiliate programs.

If you plan on promoting products without a website and use social media platforms like Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram instead, you might not immediately need a website. In the long run though, you might find it beneficial to have a website to successfully promote products. It is one of the things of what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer.

Choose Products to Promote and Search for Affiliate Programs

It is best to promote a product and / or service that you believe in or have used. That way you are more convincing. Promote products from different merchants within your niche. By diversifying, you can protect yourself if certain products do not convert the way you were hoping they would.

Spend time to learn what is changing in the online world and what the latest trends are, and you will be rewarded with how to make a passive income online.

There are many affiliate programs to join. Some well known affiliate marketing networks are Amazon Affiliates, ShareASale, Clickbank (for digital products), Rakuten, Pepperjam and CJAffiliates (Commission Junction) ShareaSale Affiliate marketing sign up page

Create Quality Content by Writing Blog Posts and Reviews

Google and other search engines look for quality content and a good user experience on your website. Remember you are writing for real people, not bots, so create content that people would want to read and share. Create quality content for your website

Quality content is helpful, engaging and thorough, so your emphasis must always be on quality content. You are writing for your followers and audience first, and search engines secondly.

High quality content will help solve a problem for your audience and your readers will learn something. How search engine optimization on a website works is that search engines are looking for relevancy, recency and reputation when they look at your content.

Google loves updates and are always looking for current content. If you create quality content, then you will build up a reputation of being credible. Regularly produce fresh content and people will want to share it. This is a crucial part of what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 

Search Engine Organization (SEO) is more than just about keywords and optimization, but the whole user experience is taken into consideration. An essential element of how Search Engine Optimization on a website works, is to make your site easy for users and search engines to understand. So develop content for online users, not online search engines.

  • Write helpful and relevant content and content needs to be current, appropriate and important with indexable content.
  • Pick good keywords. The whole science of retrieving information by search engines, is based on keywords and Jaaxy is the perfect keyword research tool.
  • Add an alt tag description to your images.
  • Title tags – normally the first 60 characters in the title of a post will be displayed in the search results. So it is important to adhere to this guideline as the rest of the title will be cut off.
  • Meta description tag is a very brief description of the content in the page. It gives the reader a “taste” of what they can expect in the post, but it also tells search engines like Google, what the post is about. Tag descriptions normally uses the first 160 characters in the search results. So it is important to use your keyword towards the start of your Tips on how to improve website search engine optimizationdescription. If you are using a particularly long keyword, you might want to have a slightly longer description though.
  • Use headlines in your posts.
  • Name your images properly when uploading them.
  • Use internal and external links.

Related post: What is website search engine optimization?

Learn how to write compelling meta descriptions that will boost your rankings. Google changes the algorithms five hundred to six hundred times per year, and sometimes as many as nine times per day. This creates a never ending pursuit for the coveted number one ranking. One area that is not likely to change soon, is the meta description.

Meta descriptions are an essential part of the results page of a search engine. This is a very important aspect of how Search Engine Optimization on a web page can be improved and you can capitalize on it. A meta description is a succinct description of the content of your web page, together with the rest of the metadata in the HTML code of your site.

In short, it is a simple blurb and description of the content of your blog to give your visitors an idea as to what to expect.

Related post: Tips to succeed working from home

Time and Motivation

Any business takes time and effort to build up and be successful, and that is also true for an affiliate marketing business. So do not expect to make a fortune overnight. It is awesome how the first dollar that you earn, will provide you with motivation to continue.

Scammy platforms might promise you “get-rich-quick” tips and products, but don’t fall for it. Affiliate marketing is a legitimate business model, that with time, perseverance and motivation, you will learn how to make a passive income.

Many people that start with affiliate marketing quit too soon if they do not see immediate success. Be realistic in your expectations and monitor your results to see what is working and what not. Make changes based on your analysis and remember, success does not happen overnight.

Don’t give up at the first hurdle!

Rinse and Repeat

Now that you know what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer, you just have to continue to create quality content. Make sure you include how search engine optimization on your website can be improved and you are on your journey of how to make a passive income.

It is easier to achieve your goals and success if you follow a proven path. With Wealth Affiliate you have everything you need to get started in one place. I followed the training of Wealthy Affiliate, a platform that teaches you in detail how to become a successful affiliate marketer.

I would like to hear your views on what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer. If you have any tips or strategies that I should add, then please leave them in the comments below and I will get back to you.

26 thoughts on “What do I need to become a Successful Affiliate Marketer”

  1. Becoming successful s an affiliate Marketer doesn’t seem to take so much time and stress like having a day jobs and it is something that anyone of any age can do as long as you have a passion. Your explanation is really good but I think the training will help me better to understand even more what I can do to become a successful affiliate marketer.

    Reply
    • The more time and effort you put into affiliate marketing and creating quality content, the more you will be rewarded. Doing training and getting to know how search engine optimization on a website can be improved, will help you in the long run. 

      Reply
  2. One of the most important points here is being able to choose a niche that can work for you and really, that’s a big point to hold on to because it is the bedrock of your business. The foundation of every affiliate marketing business. I find it very nice that you can make a point of this here. I like how you’re able to explain this point.

    Reply
    • What is niche picking will depend on your interests and forms the foundation of your website. Good to know that you found the post helpful. 

      Reply
  3. Affiliate marketing as I always say is a very lucrative online business, the best I’ve seen though. Many people do have this mindset of a very simple thing when it comes to affiliate marketing, they don’t think it requires a lot of work but I actually does. This article is very valuable and will serve a guide to newbies.

    Reply
    • Many people think affiliate marketing is a get-rich-quick scheme, which is not the case. What do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer is patience, perseverance and commitment and you will learn how to make a passive income. 

      Reply
  4. First, to start doing this business requires a lot of effort and little invested capital. In order to later become successful in this business, you must first have excellent coaches and support from members who do the same job as you.

    I am an almost premium member of an excellent web platform for online earnings and I can say from previous experience that every cent is worth investing in training and coaching because it is the only way that can lead you to success Affiliate Marketer.

    This is a very good review for all beginners who want to became excellent Affiliate Marketer

    Reply
    • I agree with you that training and support is very important and then also patience and commitment is part of what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer. 

      Reply
  5. I like how you mentioned the “tire kickers,” lol. Unfortunately, that’s a huge segment of society, these days. There are lots of critics out there, usually very bitter folks who don’t believe it’s possible to achieve honest success in any form. They’re the first ones to come out and say that you’re either exaggerating your success or cheating people, in some way. What they don’t realize is that if you’re willing to give it a shot, affiliate marketing is actually a very sound business model based on sound principles. This is a great piece, by the way. The tire kickers could certainly learn a thing or two about it, if they were willing to put some effort into it. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Thank you Mark and we certainly don’t want any tire kickers or people who are on the procrastination bus to hold us back on our journey of what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer.

      Reply
  6. I think you have made a nice and clear view on this article, as you not only help list out the steps on getting along with affiliate marketing but you have also made an inspirational steps on what to do to succeed. I must say those steps are very insightful and important. If you want to succeed through online marketing, be prepared to put in effort or do not be surprised if you are not successful. Thanks for putting this through.

    Reply
    • Thank you for your kind comments and the steps of what do I need to become a successful affiliate marketer, are quite straightforward. Starting with what is niche picking and then getting to know how search engine optimization on a website can be improved, will all help you learn how to make a passive income with affiliate marketing. 

      Reply
  7. Hi,

    I do love affiliate marketing. Not only is it a way for you to own your own business but the best part is the way it allows you to earn a passive income. I think all of us would be really pleased with this idea. Earning a passive income is a big deal for all of us. Also, it’s one of the few businesses I know where the start up cost is so low but the longterm benefits is so great. The personal risk is also low. This is really great. You really cant beat that.

    Candy Benn

    Reply
    • Affiliate marketing is a great way of how to make a passive income online. The start-up cost is low and with patience and perseverance and knowing how search engine optimization on a website can be done, you can benefit for many years.  

      Reply
  8. Ok some questions please.  DO you agree that any niche selection can succeed in affiliate marketing for a new domain or business. Secondly do you believe that quality content literally equals SERP or there are ways to scale through the Google algorithm with the right format. Then again how important are ads in the affiliate marketing campaign.

    Reply
  9. Affiliate is growing by leaps and bounds which is quite due to the fact of job losses and more people whose desire is to work from home.

    This business has its rewards but their is a lot of work that must be carried out in order to have success it does not happen overnight but success is possiable if you keep working at it.

    Reply
    • Like with building any business, success does not happen overnight and one gets rewarded for the work that you put in. Affiliate marketing is the same. You put in the time and effort, and the rewards will follow.

      Reply
  10. Lots of good info here on creating a successful affiliate marketing business. One of the most important points is defining your audience or avatar as they will tell you what they want to buy. By providing valuable content to them on a consistent basis they will trust your insights and consider you an authority. It’s all good. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  11. Hey, this is a wonderful and comprehensive article, a lot for us to learn here in affiliate marketing, there is so much to learn is like you never stop learning.
    You really share some valuable information here that many need to read, I will certainly share this on social media.
    Thank you much for sharing, it was worth the reading.

    Reply
  12. I found this article really interesting and to be honest, I wish I’d have read it when I first started my affiliate marketing journey. You have set out the components of what it takes to be successful very clearly. I hope to inspire others to embark upon affiliate marketing. We are all capable of succeeding if we have the tenacity to persist. What else are we going to do with our time? Watch endless Netflix series? No thanks! Life is too short.

    Reply
    • I do hope that this will inspire others to start affiliate marketing. It is not a get rich quick scheme, but can be very rewarding if you persevere. Wishing you success, Liné

      Reply
  13. Hello, 

    Fantastic post, thanks! Your advice here is a good refresher for me. 

    I’ve been an affiliate marketer for several years now. The mindset is essential–no one builds an online business in just one day, nor do they make 5 or 6 figure incomes overnight. It’s important to realize this is a long journey that takes time, energy, hard work, and patience. And sometimes keeping the fire under you lit may be difficult if you are not totally committed to building a reputable brand and producing quality content for however long it takes and even if you don’t see income for a while. This is not a get-rich-quick formula. 

    When I started my first website, I hit the ground running. My niche (one of my hobbies) I was sure would keep my interest and attention for years. In the excitement, I forgot key points–which you have outlined and explained in your post–decide on my target audience and pick a narrow niche. 

    I spent a year posting and promoting. It was fun, but success was very slow. And I wasn’t accomplishing what I wanted to. Finally I got the memo: “Your niche is too broad and you don’t have a clear and specific visual for who your audience is!” 

    At this point, I took the time to really think about who I wanted to reach, how to interest them, and how to zero in on a specialized niche. When I had this, I was ready to start over. Which I did more patiently and prepared this time. And I am so glad I did. It made ALL the difference.

    Thanks for outlining every step/decision for success. 

    ~ Tamara

    Reply
    • Thank you Tamara for adding your experience and wise words. It is also encouragement for me. All the best, Liné

      Reply

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