There’s a lot of confusion within the affiliate marketing world, and among newcomers to this space. The problem I see is there is so much misinformation out there about what it is, how you will actually be making money, and the process itself, It is no wonder that people are completely confused.
First off, I know for a fact that you can because I have been doing this full-time for the last 16 years within the online world. The idea whether it exists, to me, is no different from arguing whether air exists.
I am going to settle this argument once and for all and am going to be going into detail answering the question of Can you make money affiliate marketing, and if so what is the proper process of doing so and how exactly do you make money within the affiliate world. .
The Process of Making Money as an Affiliate
As an affiliate marketer, you have access to over 550 million products and services that you can promote as an affiliate. When you join an affiliate program, it gives you access to promote given products and services that are available within that program.
Some companies off their affiliate programs independently (they operate and manage them in-house), and some are part of what are called affiliate networks, a grouping of many affiliate programs.
When you join an affiliate program you get access to certain promotional materials like affiliate links, banners, and sometimes more sophisticated widget that you can add your website, you can also promote many other places.
For example, If I were to join the Amazon affiliate program, that would give me immediate access to promote 100’s of millions of products on Amazon. Let’s say I wanted to work within the organic skin care niche, a quick search within Amazon would indicate that I could promote over 70,000 different products and services on Amazon alone.
And that is just ONE affiliate program. Amazon pays 6% on every sale that I need, so if I sell a thousand dollars worth of product, I am going to earn $60 in affiliate commissions. These are paid either through check, or through Amazon gift cards. Every affiliate program pays a bit differently, but almost all will offer you several forms of payment.
Misinformation is Rife Within the Affiliate World.
Part of the problem with those seeking to create an affiliate marketing business, is that the industry is full of outdated or simply incorrect information being propagated through all corners of the Internet. Companies are making money selling you a course that are based on “theoretical” affiliate marketing principles, stuff that should work but probably won’t.
Then you have companies pretending to be affiliate marketing, when they are not. They are a scheme, an MLM, or 
something that is completely different (that is, a scam).
Then you have old products/services that were ONCE good in their glory years, but haven’t been updated to keep up with the trends in the affiliate world, new technology, new platforms, and new techniques and strategies that are being used by affiliates.
So although the opportunity is significant within the affiliate world, it can be difficult to achieve success if you are linking up with the wrong people. That is why education element, and having access to the tools and support you need to build a proper affiliate business is going to be imperative to your success.
Affiliate Success Starts Proper Affiliate Education
There is a right way to build a business online, and there is the wrong way. The proper way of building and affiliate business, has remained the same for many years.
You have a potential customer, and you have a product (that has an affiliate program). You as the affiliate, your goal is to connect the potential customer with the product through relevant content and/or through various marketing channels.
To do this, you will want to have a WEBSITE that will act as your storefront for customers, and offer you the ability to promote one of the over 550 MILLION products/services that you can promote as an affiliate.
There’re many platforms online cleaning to be high quality affiliate education, but which one do you choose. If you don’t do your due diligence, you are likely to end up joining a company that is “pretending” to be affiliate marketing and they end up offering a low quality education, and worse yet, some of these programs are multi-level-marketing and are acting as a wolf in sheeps’ clothing.
So how do you know when is a good education, from what is potentially poor or misleading education. Here are a few tips when looking for high quality affiliate marketing training.
- The Company Reputation. Is the company legitimate (do they have a good standing with the BBB.org). Are there positive reviews about this company online. Have they been in business for some time.
- Free Trial or Free to Try. If you can’t get insight into what a company is offering, then you shouldn’t even be considering. If there is no free trial or at least a sneak peek (outside of their sales pitch), then avoid it.
- Cost Efficient. Building an affiliate marketing business should not be expensive venture, even the education aspect of it. If you are spending more than $500 per year to run your business, including the websites, hosting, tools & technology, coaching, and networking, you are overspending. Companies charging more than this are likely in the business of “taking your money” and not helping people, so avoid overpaying.
- Are They Clear With What they Offer. If you are to go to a company website, you go through the content and you still are unsure of what you will be doing, and what they are offering, then avoid this company at all costs. If they are selling you on the idea of owning a big house, expensive car, sitting on the beach, or “you can do it”, without telling you what you are doing, you are almost certainly going to be getting yourself involved in a scam.
- Do They Offer You Everything You Need to Run Business. To run an online business, you need a website, you need hosting, you need keyword & research tools, you need proper training (ideally some sort of interactive training as well), coaching and mentoring, and the ability to network with others that are involved in the business. If a company is missing one or more of these, then you are not getting everything you need to properly run a business.
I personally have been working directly and helping affiliates for the last 12 years of online and it has been the sole purpose of my business. My affiliate home base (and where I educate and help people) is through Wealthy Affiliate, and if you are interested in building an affiliate business, I recommend that at the very least you take a look.
Of course, you can feel free to do some research online and see what best suits you, but I can tell you that there isn’t a more progress, forward thinking, cost-efficient and caring platform in the world for affiliate marketers. That is something that I will stand behind.
Here’s the breakdown of what I would recommend as the ONLY (and top) affiliate education platforms online that you should consider, and I am basing that on the criteria I mentioned above.
WealthyAffiliate.com: Been in business since 2005 (visit website here)
Free Trial: Yes (unlimited Starter membership)
Cost Efficient: Yes, very. $49 per month (or $359 per year)
Clear What They Offer: Yes
Everything You Need to Run Business: No, there will typically be lots of extra costs.
Who It’s For: Beginner to Expert Affiliate Marketers
Quick Review: Wealthy Affiliate is the elite affiliate marketing platform in the industry. With over 1.4 million active members, you have access to the largest resource of experts in the space, but unlike most communities of this size, the environment has a true “pay it forward” vibe to it.
It offers a true all-inclusive environment where you have access to everything that you need in one place to create, grow and manage a very successful business online (or several of them). This includes training (all formats), live classes, websites, hosting, keyword/research tools, content/writing platforms, support, expert coaching, and the ability to network with over 1.4 million fellow aspiring and successful Internet Entrepreneurs.
Udemy.com: There are some good courses there, they are a legitimate platform
Free trial: Yes, you can see “some” of the courses before you buy typically.
Cost efficient: Fairly, $15-200 per course.
Clear What They Offer: Yes
Who It’s For: Generalize Affiliate Marketing Skills
Everything You Need to Run Business: No, there will typically be lots of extra costs.
Quick Review: Udemy is a wide open education platform, with training resources across a breadth of topics. You can buy individual courses and training within their network. Some of the affiliate marketing training is really high quality, but it is lacking the fundamental tools to build an actual affiliate marketing business (websites, hosting, research tools). So the courses themselves are good education, but there will be many costs beyond that.
You are also required to pay for every course, so you definitely do not have access to an environment where you have all the training you need, it is more of an la cart type education platform.
Affilorama.com: Have a long-standing track record in the affiliate space
Free trial: Yes, you get some access (including their forum)
Cost efficient: Fairly, $67 per month (+ $1,000+ in up sells)
Clear What They Offer: Yes
Who It’s For: Beginner to Intermediate Affiliate Marketers
Everything You Need to Run Business: No, there will typically be lots of extra costs.
Quick Review: Affilorama, founded by Mark Ling and expert in the affiliate marketing space has been one of the few programs to survive since the 2000s. The reason is result of the long-standing focus on offering a good service and platform at a cost-efficient price. They are also one of the few education companies in the affiliate marketing space that offer a free trial, which I am absolutely an advocate of and respect.
Although the time investment and the commitment to being update has suffered a bit in recent years, the framework and principles taught within Affilorama are still consistent with the industry. Do know that there are additional costs outside of the initial $67 per month.
So as you can see, there are appropriate services available if you want to learn how to build an affiliate marketing business and truly one that will actually generate you revenue. There is a right way to build an affiliate business and a wrong way, most companies simply do not cut it (the 3 mentioned above do though).
Why Most People Fail Affiliate Marketing.
Before I leave you today, I want to share a few insights into why people fail, and what failure truly looks like within the affiliate marketing world.
There is one contributing factor that I see on a day in, day out basis as to why people don’t achieve success online. Patience.
There is a natural tendency to treat any business venture, and compare it to a job. Most people want instant results, because well, you earn an hourly wage with a job and it should work the same way in your affiliate business right? Actually, no. It is quite the opposite.
Before you establish a business and can actually even promote affiliate programs, you typically are required to have a presence (website) and a foundation built. That is exactly what is taught within Wealthy Affiliate, but most newcomers to the affiliate marketing space never get to that point because they are not equipped with the proper tools and training to get them there.
Once you have your foundation of your business set out, at that point you can start generating success and building a business online. This success will snowball and before long, you will see your traffic and revenue grow. For me, that started around the 3-month mark in the affiliate marketing world and here I am 16 years later (being full time online and very successful as an affiliate).
So please, promise me that you are not going to treat this like a job. It isn’t, affiliate marketing is a business and the time and energy you put into your respective business today, typically takes 3-4 months to really start to materialize and show you the fruits of your labor.
I personally have a vested interest in not seeing you fail. My mission for the last 12 years through WealthyAffiliate.com has been to harbor and create very successful affiliate marketers. That is what I have been able to do, and that is what I plan on doing moving forward.
If you want my personal help and coaching (and to get rolling for no charge), simply roll on over to Wealthy Affiliate and set-up your account. Upon doing so, you will have direct access to not only the most comprehensive and elite platform for affiliate marketers in the world, you will have access to ME. 🙂
