Affiliate marketing is a great way to earn money online by promoting products or services of other companies. You can do affiliate marketing even if you don’t have any money to invest initially. In this comprehensive guide, I will show you exactly how to get started with affiliate marketing from scratch with no money.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing where you earn a commission by promoting the products or services of a business. As an affiliate marketer, you join an affiliate program run by a merchant. You then promote their products or services using a special affiliate link. When someone makes a purchase through your affiliate link, you earn a commission.

The commissions can range anywhere from 5% to 75% depending on the merchant, product, and industry. Some popular affiliate programs are Amazon Associates, ShareASale, ClickBank, Commission Junction, etc.

So in summary:

• You promote the products of a business through an affiliate link
• Someone clicks your link and makes a purchase
• You get a commission on that sale

Affiliate marketing works on a revenue-sharing model. It allows businesses to only pay partners/affiliates when a real user takes a desired action. This pay-for-performance model makes affiliate marketing a low-risk way to grow your income online.

Why Start Affiliate Marketing?

Here are some great reasons to get into affiliate marketing:

1. Low Barrier to Entry

You can get started with affiliate marketing at no cost. You don’t need any specific qualifications or upfront investment. All you need is some time and effort. This makes affiliate marketing accessible for anyone looking to earn money online.

2. Be Your Own Boss

Affiliate marketing offers a great deal of flexibility and freedom. You get to be your own boss, set your own goals and work at your own pace. You can work full-time or part-time, from home or anywhere you want.

3. Passive Income Potential

Once your affiliate marketing efforts start paying off, it can become a great source of passive income. You can keep earning commissions from sales that keep happening through your affiliate links. With time and scale, these commissions can add up to a sizable monthly income.

4. Wide Variety of Products to Promote

You get access to a vast selection of products and services to promote as an affiliate marketer. From digital products to physical products, the options are almost endless. You can choose a niche or product you are passionate about for the best results.

5. Learn New Skills

Affiliate marketing allows you to learn many useful skills such as digital marketing, sales copywriting, conversion optimization, building websites, email marketing and more. These skills can help advance your career.

6. Low Risk

There is almost no risk involved in affiliate marketing. You don’t need to create products, provide customer support, or process payments. The merchant handles it all. The only thing you need to do is drive qualified traffic and sales to the merchant’s products.

These reasons make affiliate marketing a great way to start earning money online with very little risk or investment.

How to Start Affiliate Marketing Step by Step

Here is a step-by-step process on how to start affiliate marketing when you have no money:

Step 1. Choose a Niche

The first step is to choose a niche you want to promote affiliate products. Choosing the right niche is important for success as an affiliate marketer. You need to pick a niche you have a genuine interest in and familiarity with. Here are some criteria to use for picking the best niche:

• Industry growth – Make sure the niche has growing demand and is not saturated. Growing industries see more consumer spending.
• Profit margins – Select products with high-profit margins to earn bigger commissions. Digital products tend to have higher margins.
• Competition – Don’t go into extremely competitive niches as a beginner. Find niches where you can compete and gain market share.
• Interests – Consider niches related to your interests and skills. It will help you create better content and affiliate offers.

Using these criteria, you can shortlist a few potential niches to get into. Some examples of popular niches for affiliate marketing include Software, Weight Loss, Pets, Kitchen Appliances, Online Courses, etc. Do your research to zero in on a profitable niche to work in.

Step 2. Find Affiliate Programs to Join

Once you have chosen your niche, look for relevant affiliate programs to join. Affiliate programs provide all the tools and support required to promote their products. Here are some places to find great affiliate programs:

• Affiliate Networks – CJ Affiliate, Shareasale, Rakuten Linkshare, Flexoffers, etc. These networks work with thousands of advertisers and offer consolidated access.
• Niche Affiliate Programs – Many niche companies likeConvertKit, Teachable, Mighty Networks, etc. run their own affiliate programs. Look for niche programs relevant to your audience.
• Company Affiliate Pages – Most large online companies like Amazon, Walmart, Apple, Nike, etc. have dedicated affiliate program pages where you can find details on how to join.

Evaluate and shortlist 2-3 strong affiliate programs in your niche to apply for. Check commissions, cookie duration, and payment terms before applying.

Step 3. Create Affiliate Content

The next step is to start creating content to promote the affiliate products. Content is the lifeblood of affiliate marketing. Use these strategies to create effective affiliate content:

• Product Reviews – In-depth, honest reviews of the products you are promoting as an affiliate can be highly effective. Include text, images, and videos if possible.
• Comparison articles – Compare the product with alternatives in a detailed, well-formatted comparison article. These are great for conversions.
• Tutorials – Create step-by-step text/video tutorials related to using the product. This builds authority and improves conversions.
• Roundups – Roundup posts highlighting the ‘best products’ in a niche also work well. Include your affiliate products in these roundups.
• Email Sequences – Create email sequences that provide value and recommend affiliate products periodically. This helps with conversions.

The focus should always be on providing authentic, original and engaging content that adds value for readers. Promotion should be secondary.

Step 4. Set Up Your Website

To start affiliate marketing, you should set up a website. While it’s not completely mandatory, having a website makes things much easier. Here are a few options to create websites for affiliate marketing:

• Use WordPress – WordPress is the best CMS for affiliate marketers. You can easily create a website with WordPress.org or WordPress.com.
• Sign up for site builders – Tools like Wix, Weebly and Squarespace also allow you to build decent websites easily.
• Web hosting – You can also buy web hosting and set up a WordPress site from scratch. This gives you full flexibility.

The initial focus should be on creating a simple website. Don’t spend too much time on this. You can always improve your website over time.

Step 5. Focus on Traffic Generation

Once your website is up, the next critical step is to start driving traffic to your affiliate content. Without traffic, affiliate marketing won’t work. Here are some proven free traffic generation methods:

• SEO – Optimize your content for keywords related to your niche. Ranking content on search engines will drive organic traffic.
• Social media marketing – Promote your content consistently on social media. Build an engaged audience on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
• Email marketing – Build an email list by offering opt-in incentives like discounts or free content. Send them valuable content with affiliate links.
• Influencer marketing – Reach out to influencers and other websites in your niche to get backlinks, product mentions, or reviews.
• Interactive content – Create content like quizzes, contests, and comparisons that encourages social shares and links.

The focus, in the beginning, should be on creating high-quality content, publishing frequently, and optimizing your efforts. Once you build authority and traffic, conversions will start ramping up.

Step 6. Track and Optimize Performance

It is important to track key performance metrics to optimize your affiliate promotion efforts. Here are some key metrics to track:

• Traffic volume – Total visitors to your site
• Conversion rate – Percentage of visitors that convert into sales
• Click-through rate – Ratio of clicks your affiliate links get vs. total visits
• EPC – Earnings per click i.e. revenue generated per click on your affiliate links
• ROI – Return on investment, compares earnings vs. expenses

Many affiliate programs provide tracking dashboards to monitor such metrics. You can also use Google Analytics for detailed tracking.

Studying these metrics will help you identify better-performing affiliate products/content and tactics. Double down on what works and cut out what doesn’t. This will boost your earnings over time.

Step 7. Learn and Improve Ongoingly

Affiliate marketing takes time and effort to achieve success. You need to consistently learn, experiment, track and improve upon your efforts. Here are some tips that will help:

• Read blogs/forums/case studies for the latest affiliate marketing tips and tactics
• Attend webinars and conferences (online or offline) to network and learn from experts
• Learn high-impact skills like email marketing, conversion rate optimization
• Keep testing new traffic sources, affiliate programs, and content formats
• Set growth goals, benchmark progress, and improve continually

If you follow this process diligently and persistently work on growing your business, you will start seeing results within a few months.

Tips for Affiliate Marketing Success

Here are some additional tips that can help boost your chances of success with affiliate marketing:

Provide Genuine Value – Always aim to provide real value through your content and recommendations. Don’t overtly pitch products.

Build an Email List – Email marketing converts much better. Offer lead magnets to build an email subscriber list.

Promote Persistently – It takes time and sustained effort to see results in affiliate marketing. Persist and be patient.

Focus on Conversion Optimization – Tweaking your website and content to improve conversions leads to big gains.

Limit Affiliate Programs Initially – Don’t join too many programs. Focus on promoting a handful of products effectively at first.

Write Detailed Product Reviews – In-depth reviews and personal recommendations convert better than generic descriptions.

Leverage Influencer Marketing – Getting mentions and reviews of your affiliate products from influencers can really give a boost to conversions.

Use Affiliate Links Strategically – Place your affiliate links smartly within content to get clicks and conversions. Don’t overdo it.

Following these best practices will increase your affiliate commissions tremendously. Just be sure to track what works for your audience and double down on those areas.

Tools for Affiliate Marketers

Here are some essential tools you need to succeed with affiliate marketing:

• Affiliate Network Platforms – To find affiliate programs and track earnings like Shareasale, CJ, etc.
• Website Builder – To create affiliate websites like WordPress, Wix, etc.
• Email Marketing Software – To build email lists and send campaigns eg. Mailchimp, ConvertKit
• Page Builder – To create landing pages, lead capture forms eg. ClickFunnels, Leadpages
• Affiliate Link Cloakers – To create and track affiliate links like Pretty Links, Genius Link
• Affiliate Marketing Plugins – For WordPress users to integrate affiliate programs eg. Post Affiliate Pro
• Link Tracking Software – To track clicks and conversions across channels like Voluum, Redtrack, Linkody
• Affiliate Marketing Training – To learn in-depth eg. Authority Hacker, Spencer Haws, Miles Beckler

Invest in learning these tools to boost your performance and scale up your earnings. As your income grows, consider paid tools that can accelerate growth.

Common Affiliate Marketing Mistakes To Avoid

Here are some common affiliate marketing mistakes beginners should try and steer clear of:

• Not picking a focused niche
• Joining too many affiliate programs
• Not creating enough quality content
• Publishing thin, low-value content just for earnings
• Over-optimizing for search engines instead of conversions
• Not building an email list for lead generation
• Relying only on organic traffic instead of paid
• Choosing dodgy affiliate programs without vetting
• Using spammy affiliate links instead of strategic placements
• Not tracking vital metrics and optimizing
• Lack of persistence and impatience

Be aware of these pitfalls and act consciously to avoid making them. Do your research before getting into any aspect of affiliate marketing to maximize your odds of success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is affiliate marketing really free to start?

Yes, affiliate marketing does not require any upfront investment to get started. You don’t need to create any products or pay for inventory. The only investment needed is your time and effort to learn digital marketing skills, create content, and drive traffic to affiliate offers. This makes it extremely accessible.

Q. How much can I earn from affiliate marketing?

Earnings potential in affiliate marketing is huge. Top affiliate marketers earn anywhere from 5 to 7 figures in revenue each year. But at a beginner level, you can expect to earn ~$500 to $2000 per month on average after 6-12 months of sustained effort. With more experience, you can scale up your earnings significantly.

Q. How fast can affiliate marketing make money?

It takes patience and consistent effort over months to start seeing results from affiliate marketing. Don’t expect overnight success or get-rich-quick outcomes. Set reasonable goals and follow the strategies outlined in this guide to start seeing your first sales within a few months.

Q. Do I need a website for affiliate marketing?

Having your own website makes affiliate marketing much easier. It establishes credibility, and allows you to build an audience and own your content. But it is possible to do affiliate marketing through social media channels alone too. We recommend starting your own website as soon as possible.

Q. What skills do I need for affiliate marketing?

Some essential skills you need are – digital marketing basics, copywriting, content creation, website development, email marketing, analytics etc. Don’t get intimidated by these. You can get started with affiliate marketing first and develop these skills as you progress.

Q. Is affiliate marketing better than display advertising?

Yes, affiliate marketing converts much better because it focuses on performance-based marketing. You only get paid when a visitor takes a desired action like making a purchase. It is also more scalable compared to display advertising.

Q. How is affiliate marketing different from network marketing?

Network marketing involves recruiting people into a business opportunity for commissions. Affiliate marketing simply involves driving sales by promoting other companies’ products for a pre-decided commission – no recruitment is needed.

So in summary, affiliate marketing offers a great opportunity to start earning money online with very little upfront investment. Just follow the step-by-step process outlined in this guide, persist with it, and you will start seeing results soon. If you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment below!