“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like hard work.”

Affiliate marketing, when done correctly, can provide the ultimate in passive income. So, what is passive income? Imagine getting paid multiple times for work you do once. Imagine making money whilst you sleep. That is passive income and affiliate marketing is a wonderful way to earn money 24 hours a day.

Sounds great, right? But what exactly is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is when you recommend products or services and, if somebody purchases as a direct result of your recommendation, you earn money. 

What can you promote?

You can, in theory, recommend any product and any service but, to gain sales, you must position yourself as an authority on the topic. Build trust with your audience, share your expertise and they are much more likely to buy a product you recommend. Pick a product you are knowledgeable about and your passion and expertise will be evident to the reader. Promote everything from solar lights to aquariums, to cameras, to toys, and everything in between and your audience might be turned off. Your recommendations should be natural, and authentic and offer a great solution to your audience. Do not spam links without adding value and do not recommend a product or service in which you do not whole-heartedly believe. You will need to work hard to build trust with your audience so do not throw it away for a quick buck. 

Find your Niche

Niche products, in an unsaturated market, are the holy grail of affiliate marketers. By tapping into a specialised segment of the market, you can laser-focus your targeting on a group of people who share the same demographic, needs, and wants. Choosing the right niche is crucial to your success as an affiliate marketer. Choose a product you love and writing about it will hardly seem like work at all. 

Popular Niches

Some evergreen niches continue to be popular and appeal to a wide audience. These include gaming, personal care, pets, and technology. One of the most profitable niches is that of online gambling though this is an extremely competitive field due to the large rewards on offer. Affiliate marketers also have success in further narrowing these niches to extremely specific products and services. For example, in the pet niche you could narrow it down to dogs, then dogs with disabilities then start a blog about just that. 

Making Money

So, you have decided on your niche, and you are confident you know enough about it to become a trusted authority with the passion to persevere. You now need to find companies whose products and services align with your niche and with your values. Remember, for long-term affiliate marketing success, integrity is everything.

Awin is one of the leading affiliate network providers with over 25,000 brands and over 200,000 active partners.   

Let us stick with the pet niche and take a look at the companies available to partner with on Awin. A quick search of the UK brings up over forty options.

Using the filter options, you can look first at companies with high acceptance rates such as Joii Pet Care which has 100% acceptance. By clicking on the company, you can then get further details and see if they are the right fit for you.

As you are running a pet website Joii Pet Care is likely a good match for your audience, and you would like to advertise their services. By writing a relevant piece that includes a natural link to Joii Pet Care you stand to gain £2 each time somebody downloads the Joii Pet Care app and £2.40 every time your referral uses the vet consultation service. Commission amounts can change so always check the terms and conditions before signing up. So, for one article with one or two relevant links to Joii Pet Care, you could be earning some very passive income any time of the day or night.

You can also explore the endless opportunities of becoming an Amazon Affiliate or Amazon Associate as they are known. Influencers, bloggers, website owners, and more can benefit from linking to any product from Amazon’s vast catalogue.

And so, to market…

So, you have your niche and you have selected your products to promote. Now it is time to build your blog. There is a wide range of website hosts to choose from and it can be pretty overwhelming to pick one. Names.co.uk has all you need to get started. You can search for your domain name (the name of your site), build your website, explore WordPress hosting, create professional emails, or even have a website built for you. Initially, we recommend building your website, using the easy drag-and-drop tools at names.co.uk, to keep costs down. Give some thought to the perfect name for your website. It should be catchy, memorable, easy to spell, and relevant to the topic. Also, consider whether a. co.uk or a .com extension is right for you. 

Now you have purchased your domain and designed your website it is time to start filling it with high-quality, relevant content that will add value for your readers. Do not simply  

spam each page with link after link. Instead, look at building your authority in your chosen niche by posting some well-crafted, well-researched articles. Next, send your freshly created and curated website out into the world!

There are many ways to promote your content, both free and paid and it is usually a mix of the two that produces the best results. Look at Google Ads and be sure to use all the tools that it has to offer to maximise your potential. Consider creating Facebook groups, and pages, and post regularly, grow your online presence with Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and never underestimate the formidable power of TikTok and YouTube.

Finally, be patient. It takes time to grow a loyal, trusting audience but, if done correctly, the rewards can be tremendous.