Easy Affiliate Marketing Guide
A practical introduction to affiliate marketing covering how commissions work, which networks to join, and six proven promotion methods. Includes real strategies like offering bonuses, promoting cheaper items for higher conversions, and writing reviews that sell. Written by someone earning affiliate income since 2009, not theory from someone who's never made a sale.
Affiliate marketing has the highest ROI of any online income strategy I’ve used. That’s not hype. After testing every monetization method available to bloggers, affiliate commissions consistently outperform everything else.
This guide covers affiliate marketing from first principles. What it actually is, how the money flows, and why most beginners fail (hint: they spam links instead of building trust).
The foundation section explains the relationship between merchants, affiliates, and networks. You’ll learn the three payment models (CPM, PPC, and Pay Per Sale) and why 85% of programs use Pay Per Sale. I recommend specific networks worth joining: ShareASale, Commission Junction, ClickBank, Impact, and Amazon Associates. Each has different strengths depending on what you’re promoting.
Six promotion methods get detailed coverage. Blogging, email marketing, niche websites, PPC advertising, social media, and forums. Email marketing with a large subscriber list is the most profitable. I’ve seen affiliates rake in millions just by writing effective promotional emails. But building that list takes time, so the guide covers where to start if you’re at zero.
The success strategies section is where most guides fall short. Generic advice like “promote relevant products” doesn’t help anyone. Instead, I cover specific tactics that actually move the needle:
Offering bonuses for purchases made through your link. John Chow offers free WordPress installation for HostGator referrals. He earns $120 per sale and spends maybe $30 worth of time on setup. Net profit of $90 per sale for adding genuine value.
Selling cheaper items. Counterintuitive, but a $9 product with high conversion beats a $900 product nobody buys. I sold over 1,100 items under $9 last Black Friday. Volume matters.
Promoting with context. Dropping affiliate links into unrelated content doesn’t work. Building content around the product, with honest reviews and personal opinions, drives actual sales.
The guide also covers minimum investment requirements. You can start with about $70 for domain and hosting if you’re building a blog. Social media promotion costs nothing but time. PPC advertising requires significant budget and expertise, so I don’t recommend it until you understand the fundamentals.
Finally, I list courses worth taking if you want to go deeper. Some free, some paid. All from people who actually earn affiliate income, not just teach about it.
If you’re starting from zero or stuck at low earnings, this guide covers what you need to know without the fluff.