Affiliate marketing for beginners
- Written by Samantha Sherer on
Affiliate marketing is booming, with predictions that by 2021 the industry will be worth $6.8 billion.
Share this

Affiliate marketing is booming, with predictions that by 2021 the industry will be worth $6.8 billion.
More and more brands are using affiliate programs to market their products, leading to greater and more varied opportunities for affiliates. The potential for affiliates to make a good income is growing, but like all business models, the basics need to be understood before diving in feet first.
Affiliate marketing as a beginner may sound intimidating, but with some guidance coupled with hard work and dedication, it can be a rewarding and exciting career. Read our guide to find out how you can start a successful affiliate business and take your share of the billions of dollars it generates.
This business affiliate guide for newbies will take you through everything you need to know about affiliate marketing and what it is. In short - affiliate marketing is a method of earning money by recommending and promoting somebody else’s products or service. For every sale that is made directly from your promotions, you will receive a commission payment. How much you earn depends on the commission levels set by the advertiser and how many products you sell.
The process of affiliate marketing is straightforward:
The affiliate link the customer clicks on has a unique code recognized as belonging to the publisher. The advertiser (the merchant whose product is being promoted by the publisher) tracks the code and pays out accordingly.
Affiliate marketing starts with the advertiser and ends with the customer. The publisher acts as the middleman, selling the advertiser’s product or service to the customer.
As a beginner in affiliate marketing, it can be difficult to navigate some terminology. Although there are only four parties involved in affiliate marketing each goes by several different names, which can be confusing. To clarify, here are some of the names you may come across:
Other terminology you will come across includes:
There are basically two ways to start an affiliate marketing business as a beginner:
Start from scratch
If you’re starting from scratch without an existing business in place, you need to complete a few background steps before looking at affiliate programs. You need to decide on a niche you are interested in that has the potential to make money. Then you will need a website or blog populated with content to help build an audience.
When you have built an audience, start researching affiliate programs that fit in your niche and sign up to those your audience will benefit from. Create content around your programs and promote to your followers, making sure to include the affiliate link.
Existing business
If you already have an existing business, then it is mainly a matter of choosing an affiliate program to promote and publicize to your followers.
A website or blog is not compulsory to run an affiliate marketing business. You can use landing pages and drive traffic to them through email marketing, pay-per-click or other forms of advertising, but a blog will help build a relationship with your followers and make them more eager to purchase from you.
Finding your niche
The importance of choosing your niche (the subject or industry you want to focus on) cannot be underestimated. It’s one of the most important decisions to make, yet can be the most challenging. When deciding, consider these points:
To answer these, you will need to do detailed research rather than relying on gut instinct.
A subject you are interested in is always a good place to start as you are more likely to be able to write content week in, week out. However, just because it fascinates you does not mean that others are equally interested.
Demand from customers
Demand from potential buyers is the most important aspect, and you can’t rely on guesswork to gauge this. You should have some ideas about the type of niche you want to develop, but how do you know if there is demand from potential buyers? Running through a few steps can help you discover if it is worth pursuing.
Positive results from these searches demonstrate a healthy demand for products in your chosen niche, with many affiliate programs to choose from. All of this indicates you can make money as an affiliate marketer in your preferred niche.
With your niche decided, it is time to become an affiliate marketer.
Affiliate marketing isn't too difficult for beginners. Firstly, you need to sign up to affiliate programs in your niche. Your research should have exposed several that fit your audience and have the potential to make money. After your account has been approved, start marketing and promoting your offers. To be able to call yourself an affiliate marketer you simply need to make at least one sale through an affiliate link that you have promoted. As soon as you have made that first commission you are officially an affiliate marketer.
All new affiliate marketers want to know how much money they can make pursuing this career. As with all entrepreneurial business, there are no definitive answers as the amount you earn depends on a variety of factors. These include how experienced you are at marketing, the niche you are in, how much your products retail for, the level of commission set for each product, how many hours you can spend a week working your affiliate marketing business, how consistent your working methods are, how much your overheads are and how determined you are to make your business a success, etc.
Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it does have the potential for an excellent full-time income. Turnover can be as high as $5 - 10million, although these type of figures often have a lot of costs involved to achieve them, according to Business.com. However, the average annual income for an affiliate marketer is $62,327.
What makes affiliate marketing so exciting is there is no cap on the potential earnings you can make. So although there are no guarantees, it is possible to make a comfortable living or create an extra income stream.
Finding the correct network to start affiliate marketing as a complete beginner can seem difficult, but it doesn't have to be. With many affiliate network options available, it is important to work with an experienced network who not only has a good range of programs, but can support and guide you through the process.
Founded in 2000, Awin has established partnerships and connections globally and understands the needs of both affiliates and retailers. Over the years Awin has worked tirelessly to provide a platform that delivers an innovative approach to affiliate marketing, concentrated on a duty of care and security for all of its clients. Many new publishers entering the marketplace choose Awin, as their experience and attention to detail provides the right guidance and support needed to make a success of your business.
This stage of your affiliate marketing career can be challenging and confusing, but with the right understanding of how to progress, and good support systems in place, it should also be exciting and stimulating. Most of all, enjoy the journey. We look forward to being there beside you.
© 2022, AWIN Inc. All rights reserved. AWIN Inc. is part of Axel Springer Group. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
We blend international reach with local expertise.