Affiliate marketing is basically an online marketing version of business referrals. It can be explained as a way for a company to sell its products by signing up individuals or companies (“affiliates”) who market the company’s products for a commission. There are two ways to approach affiliate marketing: You can offer an affiliate program to others or you can sign up to be another business’ affiliate. This allows people to sell a variety of products online through their blogs or website. If you are looking for an easy way to monetize your website, you can easily implement affiliate marketing into your site.

The basic concept when signing up for an affiliate marketing network is finding products that are within your niche. Once you find the product that is within your niche, you click on the hoplink to add your affiliate ID to the product link. When a reader clicks on your hoplink and buys the item, you get a commission for the sale. Although this sounds simple, there are a few things that you need to know before you get started.

Here is a simple guide for affiliate marketing beginners:

  1. Choose an affiliate network

The one you choose will have a lot to do with the type of product you sell. Different networks focus on different items. Some affiliate networks are known for late payments and other bad practices, so make sure you do your research before signing up. Depending on if you want to sell products related to your niche, or if you want to build a whole range, will inform you on which network to choose.

  1. Choosing products

When first starting out, you are going to be flooded with products for marketing, so you need to research the products you want to promote. Unlike your niche which is focused, you can expand your product base and offer a range of lead generating links when marketing to readers. Carefully selected ads can bring traffic to your site, so it’s worth thinking about which products will create the best association.

  1. Test the products yourself

It’s not very sensible to sell products you have no familiarity with – you need to be able to answer questions on the products if asked. Even reading online reviews of the product is not enough. Putting your audience first by being totally transparent about the products will give your site a lot of credibility.

  1. Honesty

If there are features about the products you don’t like, be honest about it – your readers will appreciate it. It shows you have more than just a knowledge of the basic features of the product and this will set you apart from other marketers.

  1. Cloaking

Most people recognise a hoplink for what is it, and will know you are trying to sell them something. It’s worth cloaking your links as it will keep your site looking professional. You can use cloaking tools or an anchor text link, which allows you to embed a link within a certain phrase.

  1. Viral Media

This is an easy way to get more traffic to your site. If you have a hosting plan you can easily use videos on your site – it’s worth buying one if you don’t have one. You can record yourself talking about the products and their features, or take shots of the products. Video marketing is a very effective way to generate traffic.

Get your website up to scratch before venturing into affiliate marketing

Unibit Solutions are digital marketing experts and can advise your business on the way to prepare your site for affiliate marketing. Offering services like website design, website maintenance and hosting packages, Unibit have all the solutions to get you ready. They also offer video marketing and social media strategies to get your message out there, so why not contact them today for more information?