Affiliate Marketing Tips for Beginners

When done right, affiliate marketing can be a significant revenue source for publishers, advertisers and networks alike.

According to a Business Insider Intelligence Research Report, 15% of all digital marketing revenue comes from affiliate marketing, and that number is steadily increasing as more players take the plunge.

The key to maximizing your affiliate income is to build a relationship with your audience and market products that deliver value to them.

With that in mind, here are the top affiliate marketing best practices all beginners must follow to realize maximum success.

1. Start With a Plan

A girl planning some strategy

No marketing campaign should be executed without having a plan in place. It would be a waste of money and resources. It would help if you did a lot of research and due diligence before starting out.

Ask yourself basic questions like – Who are your competitors? What strategy are they following? Who is your target audience? What are their buying habits? What will your business model be?

Make sure you have an answer to the fundamental questions before starting out.

2. Know Your Audience

Smartphone with a wallpaper of targeted audience

Before you start your affiliate marketing campaign, you need to know your target audience.

You need to know about their key demographics like age, sex, income level, employment, location and level of education. You also need to be informed about their psychographics (value, personality, opinion, interests, attitude, and lifestyle) and digital footprints.  

Only when you’re aware of these things, will you be able to create customized products, offers and ads for them.  

3. Be Trustworthy

wooden blocks with letters TRUST written on them

One of the most important aspects of inbound affiliate marketing is trust.

You need to always provide your audience with accurate and helpful information. If you break their trust by promoting false information, they’ll leave your website and never return.

You need to be completely honest with your target audience and not blatantly recommend products and services to earn commissions.

4. Be Transparent About Affiliate Relationships  

A woman reading the terms and conditions in a laptop

People nowadays are smart enough to differentiate between an affiliate and a non-affiliate link. That’s why you should always be transparent and honest about your affiliate relationships.

Full disclosure is a compelling tactic to build a loyal audience base.

In fact, Amazon has made it mandatory for its affiliates to identify themselves as an Amazon associate. Not doing so will result in the termination/suspension of your affiliate program.

5. Research And Join Affiliate Programs       

a laptop, a tablet and a smartphone with affiliate program written on their screens along with a dollar icon and a button that says JOIN NOW

Before applying for an affiliate program, do extensive research about all the affiliate programs in your niche.

Always go with the program that not only offers the best commission but also has an efficient tracking mechanism, fair attribution rules and a robust CRM/backend.  

6. Make Mobile Part of Your Strategy

people using their smartphones

According to a joint study by ASSOCHAM-PwC, the number of smartphone users in India is expected to 859 million by 2022.

This makes it even more important to add mobile to your affiliate marketing strategy. Not doing so means you’re losing out on a huge chunk of your target audience.

Even the Google Algorithm ranks pages that are mobile-friendly higher on SERP.

7. Make Content a Priority

content strategy diagram on a notepad

Content is the foundation of any affiliate. You need to curate relevant, informative and interesting content on your website.

Never compromise on the quality of your content to cater to any affiliate program.

It is also important to regularly update your content and keep it fresh and relevant.

8. Leverage Affiliate Promotions From Multiple Sources 

a bullseye target with arrows of different online traffic sources

Instead of focusing on just one type of affiliate promotion, leverage various sources.

Apart from promoting a brand through your blog or website, you can also promote it through YouTube videos, Emails, Push notifications, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other organic traffic sources.

This will help you understand and analyze which platform is working best for you. You can then dedicate more resources to that platform.

Final Thoughts

There is no denying that affiliate marketing, when done right, is a huge revenue source. However, to become a successful affiliate marketer, you need to have patience.

You will not see results overnight. It will take at least two years for your affiliate platform to become profitable.

Just choose the right affiliate network and make a solid affiliate marketing strategy. You will slowly start seeing results.  😊   

Vaibhav Lall

With more than 12 years of experience in digital marketing and consulting, Vaibhav is passionate about helping businesses grow through the strategic use of digital marketing best practices. When he's not busy advising startups, Vaibhav takes delight in listening to Jazz or John Mayer and Coldplay songs. He is also an avid proponent of the practice of mindfulness and starts his day with a calming meditation session. In his free time, Vaibhav can be found in quite corner, reading a Simon Sinek or Ben Horowitz book.