How To Do Affiliate Marketing With No Money
If you are wondering how to do affiliate marketing with no money, this article is for you! Most people will tell you in order to make money with affiliate marketing, you will need to invest. That is not necessarily true, especially for those of you with a very small or no budget at all. There are several free tools and ways to do affiliate marketing……and make money with no costs involved.
I already have several articles posted about affiliate marketing, so I will be including links to additional information throughout the article. All links will open in a new window so you will be able to keep this post open.
It’s important to understand that using the free tools and resources might require more time and effort on your part. Do not let that scare you away. With little to no budget to start your affiliate marketing business, the trade off is your time. If you are already working, the trade off will be your spare time.
I want to stress that when starting your affiliate marketing business you want to avoid taking short cuts. When posting content on your website, do not copy another person’s articles. I’ve been the victim of copyright infringement so I know the feeling of someone stealing my work. I also know how gratifying it was to go after them with success. Take the time to write your own content so you will not have to worry about copyright infringement.
Another thing I want you to be aware of is that affiliate marketing is not a ‘get rich quick’ opportunity. Affiliate marketing is ideal for those who are serious about making money online and have the desire to build a business that can last for years and years to come. If you have the idea that you will immediately start making money with affiliate marketing, then you really need to change your mindset. I encourage to be positive but also be realistic.
Not to scare you away, but take can take months or even years to make a comfortable living with affiliate marketing. It is possible to cut that time down? Yes, it is possible through shear determination, but since you are opting for the no investment route give yourself some time to absorb the information and take the necessary actions. There are a lot of reasons why people fail to make money online, but if you take the necessary steps/actions, stay focused and stick with it, you can be successful with affiliate marketing.
Something else I want you to get used to is using search engines like Google.com and Bing.com to find additional information. This article is providing you with the basics, but I want to you become independent and not rely on anyone holding your hand, so to speak. The more self reliant you can be, the better.
What is Affiliate Marketing?
In simple terms, affiliate marketing is promoting a product or service via a unique link assigned to you when you join an affiliate program. These products and services can be from an individual or a company like Amazon. When your visitor clicks on your unique link and completes an action like a purchase, you can make a commission. The commission levels vary from one company to the next.
There are no limits to how many products you can promotes or how many affiliate programs you can join. Some affiliate programs require you to have a websites, while others don’t.
Choose a Niche
There are too many niche’s to list, but some examples are make money online, health, beauty, golf, dogs, guitars, fishing, etc. Most niche’s have sub-niche’s such as ‘left-handed’ guitars, ‘German Shepherd’ dogs, ‘anti-age’ beauty products, ‘left-handed’ golfing, etc. The niche’s and sub-niche’s are in the thousands.
Some niche’s are more popular than others and some niche’s are considered ‘evergreen’ niche’s. Regardless of the niche’, there is a good chance you will find products to promote to people interested in that articular niche’.
You can choose any niche’ you want but having an interest or passion for one is suggested because you will more than likely already have a knowledge base established. However if you don’t, you can always learn and build your knowledge. For example, when I started affiliate marketing, I knew nothing about the subject or about making money online. I just knew making money online was possible and I later learned that making money online with affiliate marketing was a fantastic opportunity.
I’ve taken the concept of ‘making money online’ and moved towards ‘making money online ethically and legitimately’. I’ve also learned how to identify scams related to making money online.
Signup for Free Hosting & Website
Building a website is not difficult like it was years ago. You no longer have to know HTML coding. It’s become so easy, anyone can build a website. The cost of owning a website has also been reduced to down $0 in many cases. You get a what is called a sub-domain for free. What is a sub domain? To put it in simple terms, it is a secondary website that is part of a primary website. For example, tipsfromlori.com is a primary domain. An example of a sub-domain is http://best-online-guitar-lessons.tipsfromlori.com/.
You can get a free website at:
WordPress.com
Weebly.com
Wix.com
I gave you a few examples, but if you Google ‘best free website’ you will find more options.
I used YouTube to learn how to build this website which is WordPress. You can search for specific tutorials for the website platform you plan to use. For example, if you decide to use WordPress.com, search YouTube for ‘how to build a wordpress website’ or if you want to use Weebly.com, search for ‘how to build a weebly website’.
I started with a free website with Blogger.com and later moved to a paid hosting with Hostgator.com
You will need the appropriate disclaimers and policies on your website. Below are my examples of the information on my website:
How to Get Free Copyright & Royalty Free Images
If you are going to have a website, then you will need access to quality images. Check out the websites listed below and join for free so you can have access to millions of royalty and copyright free images.
Pixabay.com
Freerange.com
Flickr.com
Wikimedia
Build Your Email List
You can join Mailchimp for free and build an email list of up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails monthly. It is a good and free way to build your email list, but the free membership does not include an auto-responder.
The auto-responder is used for setting up a serious of emails to be sent to your subscribers at preset dates and times. At this point, it is not a must-have tool, but as you grow your affiliate business and email list, it is something to consider later on down the road.
I caution you to be mindful of the amount of emails you send to your subscribers. Do not over promote to your to subscribers. If your subscribers are receiving too many emails from you might very well lose them.
Join Free Affiliate Marketing Programs & Networks
There are countless free affiliate programs and networks that are beginner friendly. I have several listed on my website, but you can Google ‘beginner friendly affiliate programs’ for more options. You want to search for niche’ related affiliate programs.
The affiliate networks comprise of several different companies that have affiliate programs. The networks are free to join and once you setup your account, you can apply to the individuals affiliate programs.
Amazon Associates is a popular affiliate program for beginners. It is easy to join and get started.
Important reminder: Remember to read the terms & conditions of each affiliate program you join, so you understand how to stay in compliance with their guidelines. Violations can result in your affiliate account being terminated.
Promote on Social Media Sites
Social media has become a very important part of almost every business. You can join social media sites for free. They are great resources for building an audience, get likes and build a loyal following.
Here is a list of some of the popular social media websites:
Facebook (you can also create Facebook fanpages)
Google +
YouTube
Snapchat
Important reminder: Remember to read the terms & conditions of each social media website you join, so you understand how to stay in compliance with their guidelines. Violations can result in your social media account being terminated.
Promote on Niche Related Forums
There are hundreds of free forums you can join. Make sure they are niche’ related. Also, make sure you read their rules and guidelines so you do not get banned. Been there done that.
Conclusion
I’ve given a basic foundation to start your affiliate marketing business. All the services and tools I mentioned above are free.
Don’t be overwhelmed and if you are, just relax and adsorb the information at your own pace. I recommend using the search engines and YouTube for information and ‘how to’ tutorials.
As you begin making money, you will want to consider switching to paid tools like paid web hosting, email auto-responder and possibility paid advertising.
If you have any questions, please let me know. Affiliate marketing can be challenging, but once you make your first sale you will be hooked!
If you want to cut your learning curve in half and want to take some affiliate marketing training for only $9.95, checkout Jay’s Affiliate Marketing Bootcamp.
>>>Affiliate Disclaimer: Some of the links/banners on this page are affiliate links. If you click on an affiliate link/banners, you will be taken to the merchant’s website. If you decide to purchase that product or join the website, I stand to make a commission on the sale/lead.
Additional Information:
Here are some links to learn more about Affiliate Marketing I think you will find helpful. I hope you will utilize the information on my site and bookmark it so you can return as often as need or want to.
Do’s & Don’ts of Affiliate Marketing
21 Affiliate Marketing Tips for Beginners
Avoid These Poor Marketing Strategies
Easiest Ways for Newbies to Start An Affiliate Marketing Business