1st July 2024
Why do people fear doing business and marketing?
Business is a big word and it only appeases some. This is why 92% of the world’s population feels comfortable working for someone. Being a businessman/woman or an entrepreneur is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Just like we get inspired to do our best in a job, it requires just a little more courage and motivation to become an employer or businessperson. If you take calculated risks, doing business is a very lucrative option. Affiliate marketing is a business that does not involve any risk. The joy of working for a given time and forgetting about it is something which we all look forward to. To achieve this, we can try affiliate marketing. This field enables us to earn money without working for it.
Scenario of doing business in the past:
Let me give you an example of “Chandrika Soap”. All of us are aware of this brand as we see numerous advertisements about this product on TV channels. The story about the founding of this product is like this. The owner of Chandrika soap, Sri C. R. Kesavan Vaidyar started his enterprise by making soaps. He named it ‘Chandrika’. He was an ayurvedic physician and started this business in 1940. The manufacturing activity was carried out in a small town called Irinjalakuda in Kerala. The soap was manufactured using natural and ayurvedic ingredients. In those days, the concept of affiliate marketing was not there. He marketed the soap by visiting houses in his village.
This same methodology was adopted by Dhirubhai Ambani as well. He used to promote his products on a bicycle. What is common in all these businessmen/entrepreneurs is the fact that they were well aware of different opportunities and had the will to spend time to work on their passion and develop it into an economically viable opportunity.
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing, to put it simply, is recommending a good or service. You can accomplish this by posting it on a website, a blog, or social media. Every time a customer purchases something, the affiliate gets paid a commission. A special link connected to their recommendation earns the commission.
Many businesses wish to use Affiliate Marketing to market their products on the Internet. This implies that you can get in touch with those businesses and propose your services. You will receive a commission in exchange. The ‘Amazon Associates – Amazon’s Affiliate Marketing Program’ is one such program which enables you to endorse products listed on Amazon and earn a commission.
I found one book to be very informative about Affiliate Marketing. If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing, you can use it as a reference material. This book is available online and is titled “A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners – 2020 edition: 1“. Click on the link https://amzn.to/3plQkiU to own a copy for yourself.
How does Affiliate Marketing work?
To make affiliate marketing work effectively, you must follow certain proven steps. Based upon your passion and interest you must first identify an industry. There are thousands of companies and products which you can start promoting online. You must choose these products intelligently. If you do not choose the right product and company you will fail in this field.
How to choose the product and industry?
We must choose an Industry that fits into our profile. Never make the mistake of choosing an industry by its name, popularity and the products/services it has. The experts in affiliate marketing have suggested three components to choose the right industry.
- Interests / Passion
- Knowledge/Skills
- Hobbies.
- Let me say, I am interested in gardening. In such a case, I will choose to promote products of industries related to agriculture, horticulture, and the like. It could be agriculture and horticulture products, services, and technology. Examples: Fertilisers, manure, pots, gardening tools, garden chairs, trellis, etc.
B) You can choose an industry based on your knowledge and skills. If you are a technocrat, you can choose products/industries that are based on technology. Examples: Video editing software, lighting equipment, updates on technology, etc.
C) You can choose products/services that match your hobbies. Examples: Sports – Sportswear, hiking shoes, travel bag; Travelling – Travel companies, tourist destinations, etc.
The Allure of Affiliate Marketing lies in:
- Minimal Entry Barrier: In contrast to launching your own product-based company, affiliate marketing needs less money upfront.
- Potential for Passive revenue: After building your affiliate network and refining your tactics, you have the ability to generate passive revenue even while you’re asleep.
- Flexibility and Freedom: You can match your efforts with your interests and passions by selecting the goods or services you wish to promote.
The following advice can help you get started in affiliate marketing:
Select a specialty: Think about your interests and strengths.
Select a content delivery network: You can use social media, YouTube, and blogs to advertise your affiliate connections.
Look for affiliate schemes: To locate programs to join, try searching Google or using affiliate networks such as ‘Share A Sale’. It’s free to sign up for some programs, like Amazon Associates.
Produce material: Write articles that are appropriate for your readership and niche, such as reviews or top 10 lists.
Encourage people to click on your links: To attract visitors to click on your links, employ SEO techniques together with other tactics.
Put links in a visible place: Utilize design elements to highlight the links in your content by placing them in a prominent location.
Bring up the commission: Make sure to specify that you will receive a commission and that the product you are sharing the link for is an affiliate product.
Conclusion:
The aim of affiliate marketing is to increase sales and this benefits both the affiliate as well as the retailer. This is a novel and profitable strategy that has been steadily gaining popularity. The internet and evolving technologies have made this form of marketing easy to use. Companies can efficiently track and pay commissions on qualified leads. They can also improve or arrange their products more skillfully since they can track the leads and sales more efficiently.
Anyone thinking about a career in affiliate marketing must understand the benefits and drawbacks of this industry. In short, it’s a low-cost and effective way to advertise products and services, establish a name for yourself, and expand your clientele.
