Affiliate Marketing: How to Turn Product Recommendations Into Passive Income

Smart entrepreneurs running a thriving business know there’s always more they can do to make that business grow. One way of taking things to the next level is by finding an alternate stream of income. That doesn’t mean starting a second business, but finding ways to complement and grow the business you have by offering more value to your customers and followers.

If you aren’t participating in affiliate marketing, it’s time to consider taking advantage of this lucrative revenue stream.

 

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is an online sales tactic that lets a product owner increase sales by allowing others targeting the same audience—“affiliates”—to earn a commission by recommending the product to others. At the same time, it makes it possible for affiliates to earn money on product sales without creating their own products.

Simply put, affiliate marketing involves referring to a product or service by sharing it on a blog, social media platforms, or website. The affiliate earns a commission each time someone purchases through the unique link associated with their recommendation. Done well, this performance-based opportunity can become an important part of your business by netting you a healthy income.

 

How does affiliate marketing work?

To participate in an affiliate marketing program, you’ll need to take these five simple steps:

1. Find and join an affiliate program
2. Choose which offers to promote
3. Obtain a unique affiliate link for each offer
4. Share those links on your blog, social media platforms, or website
5. Collect a commission anytime someone uses your links to make a purchase

 

Commission rates vary dramatically, depending on the company and the offer. On the low end, you’ll earn about 5% of the sale, but you can earn as much as 50% with some arrangements, usually when promoting a class or event. There are also affiliate marketing programs that provide a flat rate per sale instead of a percentage.

Benefits of the affiliate marketing model

Affiliate marketing offers several benefits to affiliates (i.e., you), one of which is its ease. Your side of the equation involves handling the “marketing” side of building and selling a product—educating customers. You don’t have to worry about the harder tasks, like developing, supporting, or fulfilling the offer.

Affiliate marketing is low risk. Since there’s no cost to join affiliate programs, you can start making money with an established affiliate product or service without any upfront investment. Though initially, you’ll have to invest time creating traffic sources, your affiliate links can continue to deliver a steady paycheck.

 Affiliate marketing also can generate relatively passive income through commission—the ideal money-making scenario.

 

Finally, successful affiliate marketing offers the potential to scale your earnings without hiring extra help significantly. You can introduce new products to your current audience and build campaigns for additional products while your existing work continues to generate revenue in the background.

Before you get too excited, know that great affiliate marketing is built on trust. While seemingly there is an endless number of products or services to promote, it’s best only to highlight those you personally use or would recommend. Even when a product interests you or fits within an existing hobby, becoming a great marketer for that product takes a lot of work.