Affiliate Marketing…. What is it and how you can earn extra money

We are living in a world where we are constantly told how easy it is to make an income online. We hear so many promises of ways to become rich through the internet that it is often easy to think we are doing something wrong if we are not suddenly an overnight millionaire. I am fast approaching four years of using the internet to make money online however, I am still not a millionaire or even close to it. So you may be wondering what I am doing wrong but I assure you that is not something I wonder. The reason being is I know it is only a handful who become over night success and there is a lot more hard work than luck to achieve this.

Today I am touching on ‘affiliate marketing’, how it works, the different types and why I feel it is one of the better ways of earning an extra income which has the potential to become a passive income. After all, how many us would say no to earning an income as we sleep.

What is it?

Affiliate Marketing means selling goods and services from another person or company. It is like a referral service. You set up a website or blog and join affiliate programs that are relevant to your audience. You can connect to these programs through Affiliate Marketing which provide you with a link that you include on your site. When someone clicks the link and buys the product, you get a portion of the sale as a commission. This of course can be achieved through social media also.

The 3 types:

• In unattached affiliate marketing, the affiliate has no connection to the product or service they are promoting. No related skills or expertise are known to them, and they do not claim to be an authority on the use of the product. This is the most uninvolved form of affiliate marketing. The lack of attachment to the potential customer and product absolves the affiliate from the duty to recommend or advise.

• Related Affiliate Marketing: As the name suggests, related affiliate marketing involves promoting products or services by an affiliate with some type of relationship to the offering. Generally, the connection is between the affiliate’s niche and the product or service. The affiliate has enough influence and expertise to generate traffic, and their level of authority makes them a trusted source. The affiliate, however, makes no claims about using the product or service.

• Involved Affiliate Marketing: This type of marketing establishes a deeper connection between the affiliate and the product or service they’re promoting. They have used or currently use the product and are confident that their positive experiences can be shared by others. Additionally, since they are offering advice, any problems associated with it may undermine their reputation.

I have struggled in the past with what I felt comfortable using as tool to earn money online. If you are here you know I run a social media account. Running an account takes time and although my original thinking was promoting my products, I need to make it pay for itself. I stepped back from paid promotions for the simple reason that I felt promoting a certain supermarket or a certain power company is all well and good when I am a customer but life changes.

I have choose to only do ‘Involved Affiliate Marketing’. This way I can promote a service with a service or product that I use now or in the past. By providing a referral code that is linked to me I get paid a referral fee but the individual I referred gets a discount or bonus. I only get paid if someone decides to use the service. In my mind what I am offering is fair to both the customer and myself.

Pro’s and Con’s:

As someone with a social media following I find it a great way to earn through my pages. However, I was extremely green at the start. There are proper channels that need to be used. Online software that monitors referrals is extremely important. The first company I worked with did not use monitoring systems. They paid me a few times and then nothing. I had no come back as no monitoring in place Extremely frustrating especially as they would not answer my messages or emails. Now I insist on having software in place so I can check in and see my referrals. I was connected to another company who decided stop my referral link as I had no referrals. I feel this was fair as I did not put work into promoting the product. This highlights the fact that you do actually need to do work with this!

People get very uptight about this type of marketing method as if it is only something influencers or bloggers can do. This could not be further than the truth. In fact affiliate marketing is in our every day lives more than we think. Refer a friend is used my many employment agency’s, agency nursing is a prime example of this. Refer a friend in online banking systems generates you 50euro.

How do I start?

I currently work with four different company’s. I use all of the services I promote. I think this is the important aspect. That if you decided to do affiliate marketing, you truly believe in what you are promoting. Decide on a niche. I’d advise starting on something you’re passionate about. Then you need to decide what platform you’re going to focus on e.g. a podcast or website. Once your established you get the power to adjust the terms of your link to fit your ethos. For me I always ask that if I am going to promote something, then the customer receives a discount or bonus when using my link.

Can it become a genuine side hustle?

Affiliate marketing is a genuine way to earn money online. Please do not expect it to become an overnight success as it takes time to grow your audience and reputation as being genuine. I started Irish Budgeting Mammy without knowing anything about Affiliate Marketing. Any product I promote I have been approached by the company directly. However, if you are brand new to this and you want to get going ASAP before you built your audience, then the best way is to join an affiliate marketing affiliate program online.