Affiliate Marketing is a way of Marketing in which a company launches various affiliate programs. Companies give commissions to a person who has enrolled in an affiliate program & helps the company to enhance the sale of a company.
There are various models of giving commissions such as CPS (Cost per Sale), CPL (Cost per Lead), Revenue Sharing, etc. Affiliate Marketing requires very little funds to start.
Why Affiliate Marketing?
Anybody can start Affiliate Marketing to generate a side income. Affiliate Marketing is a less technical concept if we compare it to Blogging, Dropshipping, etc.
Anyone with a high number of friends on Facebook or many subscribers on YouTube can benefit greatly from affiliate marketing, as it can earn them lakhs of rupees.
It requires significantly less time than traditional jobs, whereas jobs require more than 48 hours of work per week, affiliate marketing demands significantly less time, allowing for greater flexibility and work-life balance.
If you are the type of person who has the power to turn a user into a customer, then the sky’s the limit in affiliate marketing.
How can I Start Affiliate Marketing?
Let’s talk about if a person wants to start Affiliate Marketing, there are various ways that you can start- Flipkart Affiliate, AmazonAssociates, Coursera Affiliate, etc there are tons of platforms.
People need to create an account on one of these platforms and choose the right product or service. After selecting a product, these platforms provide affiliate links. You will earn a commission when someone clicks on your link and buys the product.
The first thing is to find the niche of your affiliate marketing business for example Travelling, Product Reviews, Photography, Lifestyle, etc. Start uploading content on WordPress.
You can buy hosting from Hostinger or any other platform that you like. Start uploading blogs on your website. You can use a plugin called RankMath to rank your blogs at the top of Google ranking.
This will help you to bring traffic organically and don’t forget to paste the affiliate link in your blogs.
Where to sell?
A person can start selling on Facebook or his website. If a person wants to make his website then they can choose Shopify or WordPress both platforms provide the best services. A person can start selling on WhatsApp.
For example, an affiliate marketer can share their affiliate link in a friend’s group or upload it on their status. Whoever buys from that link Affiliate Marketing will earn the commission. Use Digital Marketing strategies such as Content Writing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), etc.
How to level up your Business?
Always stay up-to-date, and be consistent while uploading your content. Start exploring new niches, don’t get stuck on one niche. Start attending webinars, and live events that boost your confidence. Use various tools such as ahrefs, Shareasale, Everflow, etc.
Start building relationships with Influencers & Multi-National Companies. Always ask for personalized coupons from companies. It will build a sense of trust in your customer’s mind.
Types of Affiliate Marketing
Involved Affiliate Marketing
In Invoved Affiliate Marketing, the marketer uses a product or service and finds it excellent. So, the marketer is selling based on their experience, which assures customers that the product is trustworthy.
Unattached Affiliate Marketing
This is the opposite of involved affiliate marketing, where the marketer hasn’t used the product. It does not create a sense of trust in the customer’s mind while purchasing from the link. Customers often prefer recommendations from a person who has used the product.
Related Affiliate Marketing
In this method, the Marketer has a good following on social media platforms. It helps to generate a lot of traffic. However the Marketer has not used the product, he is doing Affiliate Marketing because he wants to monetize the audience.
Best Affiliate Marketing Platforms
- Amazon Associates
- Shopify Collabs
- Flipkart Affiliate
- Cuelinks
Let’s discuss these best affiliate marketing platforms in detail:
Amazon Associates
One of the oldest Affiliate Marketing platforms is Amazon Associates offers a wide range of products, that you can imagine. There is no fee for signing up on Amazon Associates. If you are a blogger, YouTuber, or an influencer you can monetize your traffic and earn up to 10% commission depending on the product. Keep in mind before enrolling that the last post on your website should not be old for more than 60 days.
Shopify Collabs
The best feature of Shopify Collabs is that a person who has only 1000 followers on social media is eligible to enroll in Shopify Collabs. People can add various discount codes, and gifts to promote their sales. Shopify Collabs provides the feature to create custom affiliate links which helps enhance the sales and look professional.
Flipkart Affiliate
In the Flipkart Affiliate, a person can earn up to 12% commission depending on the product. It is easy to join if we compare it to an Amazon Affiliate. The biggest Drawback is that the rule sheet is very big.
Cuelinks
Easiest and the best platform to start affiliate marketing. It provides a WordPress plugin and Chrome extension which make our work so easy. Suppose you are writing a blog on the topic ‘Best Phones in 2024’. The phones that the person has chosen can generate a link to a phone from Cuelinks and put it in the blog. If someone buys a product from the link, an affiliate marketer will receive their commission. Cuelinks offers a wide range of brands such as Samsung, Croma, Ajio, etc.
These are some of the best Affiliate marketing companies in India from which you can earn some profit for yourself.
Best Affiliate Marketing Websites
- WireCutter
- Nerd Wallet
- Safewise
- The Points Guy
Let’s discuss these best Affiliate Marketing Websites in detail:
WireCutter
Wirecutter is a review-based website. It gives genuine reviews of the product. The Wirecutter has a large number of experienced reviewers in the company. They usually review the product in every scenario for example- throwing a phone from a height, a box on fire, etc. This site pays a monthly charge is 40$ per year. Wirecutter has 2 sources of income, subscriptions, and commissions.
- Nerd Wallet
It offers a variety of tools in financing such as Credit Cards, Business Loans, Insurance, etc. It gives personalized recommendations to its users such as questionnaires, and finance guides. Credit Card referral contributes 37% of the total revenue whereas loans is 15%.
- Safewise
It provides home security solutions, They do a very advanced level of SEO on their website which helps to rank on Google & a high conversion rate. They make their money by promoting products such as safes, self-defense guns, smart lock systems, etc
- The Points Guy
Their primary focus is Credit Card Rewards. Most of the audience is coming from Social Media. They have more than 1.1 million Followers on Instagram, which shows that their Social Media Marketing & Social Media Optimisation is excellent.
Benefits of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is one of the important strategies of digital marketing which allows you to earn money from home and you can work affiliate marketing as a freelancer as well. There are multiple benefits of affiliate marketing and these are:
You can start doing Affiliate Marketing with fewer funds
Affiliate Marketing requires very little funds to start, Shopify starts from less than a dollar. You can upload videos on your Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, which will help in boosting your sales. To optimise your blogs you can use a tool called RankMath which will help in Google Ranking.
There are numerous Affiliate Marketing programs
eBay partner network, PartnerStack, CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, FlexOffers, etc.
Customer Acquisition cost is less compared to other marketing services
The main cost in Affiliate Marketing is buying premium subscriptions such as RankMath, Shopify, etc.
Flexibility, You can work as a Freelancer, Full Time or Part Time
One of the biggest benefits is that you can work wherever you want whenever you want.
Increase Brand Reputation.
Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing
When you find a strategy that allows you to earn a lot and comes with great benefits, there are some downsides as well. Let’s discuss the disadvantages of affiliate marketing.
- Google Ranking takes time
There are several algorithms that you have to follow if you want to rank your content on Google.
- Huge Competition
As online users are increasing day by day, competition is also increasing day by day.
- Making a Loyal Customer Base is Tough.
You have to follow the rules of your merchant.
Digital Marketing vs Affiliate Marketing
Digital Marketing means promoting products or services online. Whereas, Affiliate Marketing is a way of Marketing in which a company launches various Affiliates programs.
Companies give commission to a person who has enrolled in an affiliate program. Any person who has skills in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Optimisation (SMO), and Google Ads can be called a Digital Marketer whereas in Affiliate Marketing a person should have good negotiation skills & should know how to build trust in your users.
Digital Marketing is a vast concept whereas affiliate marketing is a concept that has come from digital marketing itself.
It takes a lot more time to be an expert in Digital Marketing compared to Affiliate Marketing.
There are various types of Digital Marketing techniques such as Facebook Ads, Content Writing, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing, etc, But there are only 3 types of Affiliate Marketing that are Involved Affiliate Marketing, Unattached Affiliate Marketing & Related Affiliate Marketing.
At last, we can say that Affiliate Marketing is a marketing in which a small amount of money which is known as a Commission is paid to a person who is helping in enhancing your sales. The goal of digital marketing is to reach and engage with potential customers online.
Influencer Marketing vs Affiliate Marketing
Influencer Marketing is a part of digital marketing, it involves promoting a product or a service with the help of influencers. Affiliate Marketing is a way of Marketing in which a company launches various Affiliates programs.
Companies give commission to a person who has enrolled in an affiliate program. Influencers who have loyal followers would help to increase your sales 10 times.
Affiliate Marketing takes a lot more time to give better results. Influencer Marketing can become very expensive if a Business hires influencers having huge numbers of followers like Elvish Yadav, Harsh Beniwal, etc.
In Affiliate Marketing Businesses need to pay for results. Influencer Marketing is considered risky as it requires a lot of funds, Affiliate Marketing is considered less risky.
Future of Affiliate Marketing in India
If you want to know future of affiliate marketing in India, read these points that will help you understand the vastness of this strategy.
- First Step in the Digital World
As we all know the population of India is more than 1 billion and the internet in India is very cheap and fast. This helps in increasing the number of smartphone users which will automatically create a larger audience base for affiliate marketers to target.
- E-commerce
E-commerce is rapidly growing in India which will help affiliate marketers to collaborate with online brands.
- Influencer Marketing
As the internet becomes more affordable in India, there is an increase in several users using social media apps, which helps grow new influencers in the country. Affiliate marketers can collaborate with these influencers to reach their audiences effectively and promote products or services.
If you want to know more about influencers and their earnings, Check out our list of top social media influencers in India in 2024.
- Artificial Intelligence
As artificial intelligence emerges, it will become easier to target an audience in the future. Creating campaigns and automating many tasks will be simpler. AI can help improve blogs and create high-level content. However, don’t forget that AI also brings competition because, with AI making tasks easier, many new people will start affiliate marketing as a business.
FAQs
Q1 How Can I Become an Affiliate Marketer?
Ans- To become an affiliate marketer, you can join affiliate programs. Start by choosing a niche you’re interested in, building an audience, and promoting relevant products.
Q.2 Do I Need a Website to Start Affiliate Marketing?
Ans- While having a website or blog can be advantageous, it’s not always necessary. Affiliates can promote products through social media, email marketing, YouTube channels, or other online platforms.
Q.3 How Do Affiliates Get Paid?
Ans- Affiliates typically get paid on sales, leads, clicks, or impressions, depending on the affiliate program’s terms.
Q.4 What Are the Benefits of Affiliate Marketing?
Ans- You can start doing Affiliate Marketing with fewer funds
- There are numerous Affiliate Marketing programs.
- Customer Acquisition cost is less compared to other marketing services.
- Flexibility, You can work as a Freelancer, Full Time or Part Time
- Low Risk, as it does not involve any big investment
Q.5 What are the Disadvantages of Affiliate Marketing?
Ans- Google Ranking takes time
A huge competition
As you are not selling your product then making a customer base is tough
You have to follow the rules of your merchant
Q.6 Which is the best and easiest platform to start?
Ans- Easiest and the best platform to start affiliate marketing. It provides a WordPress plugin and Chrome extension which make our work so easy. Cuelinks offers a wide range of brands such as Samsung, Croma, Ajio, etc.
Conclusion
In conclusion, affiliate marketing provides an excellent opportunity for individuals who are looking to generate a side income with less investment. It offers various models for earning commissions, such as CPS (Cost per Sale), CPL (Cost per Lead), and Revenue Sharing.
It has high competition and the need for compliance with merchant rules. The advantages such as low start-up costs, diverse program options, and lower customer acquisition costs make it an attractive option.
Growing the digital and e-commerce market in India, and with the right strategies, affiliate marketers can build a successful business. Affiliate Marketing, enables marketers to reach larger and more targeted audiences. As digital adoption continues to rise, the future of affiliate marketing in India looks bright and promising.
If you want to be a part of digital marketing and learn its strategies in an advanced way, call us today at +91-88005055151 to take the first step towards a rewarding career in the vibrant world of digital marketing with DIDM.
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