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Did you know you can earn money by recommending your favorite products or services to other people?

That's right. It's called affiliate marketing and it's one of the easiest ways to make a little extra income on the side.

If you're new to affiliate marketing keep reading because I'm going to teach you how to:

• Start making money with affiliate marketing
• Find great products to promote
• Avoid getting into trouble
• Turn affiliate marketing into a full-scale business

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is when someone promotes a company's products or services in return for a small sales commission.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Work?

First, you find a brand that offers an affiliate program and then you apply to become an affiliate.

Once you get accepted, you'll receive an affiliate link. If somebody clicks on your affiliate link, they will be sent to the company’s website (or to a specific product page on that website), and you will get credit for the referral.

If they end up buying something, you will receive either a flat rate commission or a percentage-based commission.

How Do I Find Good Affiliate Programs?

You’d be amazed how many companies have affiliate programs. You can find affiliate programs for:

• Physical products/brands such as Nike, Petco, and Legos
• Digital products such as software and online courses
• E-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay

To get started, I’d recommend putting together a list of your favorite brands and products.

Are there specific products that you’re always recommending? Do you have hobbies or interests that you’re constantly talking about?

You want to align your affiliate marketing efforts with whatever you’re already doing.

If you love golf, sign up for the PGA Superstore’s affiliate program. If you’re a dog trainer, sign up for Petco’s affiliate program. If you’re an online business junkie like me, sign up for the affiliate programs of all your favorite software tools.

Once you have a list of brands and products, you’ll need to do a little research to see which ones offer an affiliate program. There are three primary ways to do this:



1. Check the footer on the company’s website for information or links related to their affiliate program.
2. Head to Google and search for "{company name} affiliate program". If they have an affiliate program, it will usually show up within the first few search results.
3. If neither of those work, you can contact the company and ask if they have an affiliate program. Usually, the answer will be no but every once in a while you’ll find a secret affiliate program; and those tend to be some of the best ones.

Finding Great Products to Promote

If you're new to affiliate marketing, I'd recommend starting with Amazon's affiliate program. Their commission rates aren't the best, but you can promote anything sold on Amazon.

Here’s the cool part: Let’s say you send somebody an affiliate link to a $5 toothbrush. If they click your link, you’ll get credit for anything they end up buying. It doesn’t matter if they buy the toothbrush that you recommended or a shopping cart full of Christmas presents.

From there, you can start applying for higher-paying affiliate programs with individual companies.

Keep in mind, physical products are great but some of the highest-paying affiliate programs are for digital products.

Many online course creators will pay hundreds of dollars for each new student that you send them, and I’ve seen software companies pay recurring commissions as high as 40%.

Recurring commissions are my absolute favorite because you get a commission payment every single month.

I’ll use Teachable.com to explain how it works.

Teachable is a software tool that allows people to create & sell online courses. They charge $159 for their premium plan and they offer affiliates a 30% recurring commission.

That means you get paid $47.70 per month for every customer that signs up with your affiliate link. And those payments continue for as long as they remain a teachable customer.

Turning Affiliate Marketing Into a Business

Personally, I treat affiliate marketing as a low-effort side hustle. It's just a way to earn a little bit of extra income while promoting products that I would recommend even if I wasn't paid a commission.

But many people treat affiliate marketing as a full-time business.

Examples include social media influencers, mom blogs, and product review websites like Wirecutter and Tom's Guide.

It's not uncommon for professional affiliate marketers to earn 5, 6, and even 7 figures per month with affiliate marketing.

If you want to get to that level, I’d recommend signing up for an affiliate marketing course like Authority Hacker.

It's a bit pricey, but they take you through every step of the affiliate marketing process. From choosing a good niche to identifying lucrative affiliate programs to producing content that drives massive amounts of traffic to your content/affiliate links.

Being Transparent & Ethical

Remember, your reputation is at risk when you recommend a product to someone. If you recommend bad products, you will quickly lose all credibility with your friends, family, and followers.

Promoting a great product with a small commission is always better than promoting a bad product with a high commission.

You also want to make sure you tell your audience that you will receive a commission if they buy through your affiliate links. In fact, the FTC actually requires that you disclose that information.

Here’s a great article if you want to read more about affiliate disclosure guidelines and best practices.

There you go. That’s the beginner’s guide to affiliate marketing.

If you have any questions, feel free to message me on Twitter and I’ll do my best to help you start earning some affiliate income.