So you want to start making money online, but you don’t know where to start? Outlined below is an affiliate marketing step by step guide. Written with beginners in mind, if you follow these steps there is no reason you cannot become successful in the world of affiliate marketing.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is simply the industry of promoting products that you did not create. Why would you do such a thing? Because creators and retailers of products want to sell more, thus they offer you a percentage of their sales so you drive them more customers. The more products you can promote and subsequently convert the more money they make—which means more money in YOUR pocket.

Why Should I Try to Make Money With Affiliate Marketing?

You will want to try and make money with this method of online monetization because it is one of the easiest ways to make money through the internet. Remember, all you need to do is promote other people’s products. There are little to no start up costs and by promoting other people’s products you are just using your marketing skills to make money. All of the customer service is handled by the retailer or product creator and you get paid only when a sale is made. You don’t even need your own website to take advantage of this amazing online opportunity!

How Do I Start?

As a beginner I would encourage you to apply to be an Amazon Associate. You will need a website to become an Amazon Associate. If you don’t already have a website, DO NOT WORRY, as you can easily start a free blog at Blogger and use that for your Amazon Associates application. You will be accepted almost immediately after signing up. Additionally, you do not need to use the free Blogger blog if you choose not to—Hubpages work extremely well for promoting affiliate products.

How Do I Determine What I Want To Promote?

After you have signed up and been accepted into the program you will need to head over to their Best Sellers and Hot Items pages and preferably find something you are interested in. Amazon products are usually very easy to rank for in the search engines, especially if you choose to utilize Hubpages as your platform for promoting.

You will want to look for a product that has favorable reviews and is on either the Best Seller or Hot Item lists. Keep in mind that different products pay out different percentages on the sale. For example, electronics only pay out 4.0% while digital download products pay 10%. The Amazon Associates Compensation Guide is extremely helpful in deciding which products you would like to promote.

Additionally, if you refer more than 6 sales per month your rate will increase to 6.0% going forward for the rest of the month. Once you have selected a product it is now time to begin promoting it either on your Blogger blog or your Hubpage. If you have selected a book, a book review is an easy way to begin promoting. But everyone else is already doing that, so you need to find other creative ways to start promoting products.

How To Begin Promoting Products

A great way to promote a book is to talk about the subject matter and then refer the book at the end of your article as a recommended read. For example, if the book you are promoting deals with social issues then create a post about a certain social issue then recommend the book at the end as a great read that directly relates to the subject. This way, not only are you starting a conversation, but you are actively promoting the book and making cash at the same time.

Or you could start a post about discussing what girls should be wearing out to prom, giving tips on hair and clothing options and throughout the post promoting high heel shoes that would go along with the topic. Simply offering a review is sure easy, but it is not enough in today’s affiliate marketing world. Plus no one wants to read through blatant advertising, so it is important that you are trying to provide value while promoting products.

Something to keep in mind when it comes to being an Amazon Associate is that the cookie your promoting link places on a clicking user’s computer only lasts 24 hours, which does not work in your favor. What does work in your favor is trying to target a buying audience with your blog post or Hubpage. This means that you are targeting keywords that people are searching for when they are ready to buy a product, enabling you a greater chance of success by promoting products. Additionally, if the user purchases other products during the 24 hour period session you get a commission on that as well—which is a great bonus for the affiliate marketer.

Your success with Affiliate Marketing can partly be attributed to doing correct keyword research, which you can read more about here. This is one of the best ways for a beginner to begin making online, and by following this affiliate marketing step by step guide you will be putting yourself on the road to success!