Making Money with Affiliate Marketing

Presented by MyAnimalBiz

Affiliate marketing is a way to create an income for simply promoting other people's animal-themed products. These products can be anything from pet supplies such as dog beds and cat carriers, to animal-themed jewelry, services for pet parents, and information products, to name a few.

Affiliate marketing is similar to offline sales where sales people earn a commission for selling a product. The difference is that with affiliate marketing,  selling is conducted online.

You find animal-themed products or services that you would like to promote and sign up for their affiliate program. Once the customer has clicked on the affiliate link your job is done.

Another way to make money is to use the Google AdSense program. These are the small ads placed on your website that generate income for you when someone clicks on one of those ads.

Affiliate marketing is a low-cost, and relatively easy way to start an online animal-related business. There are no items to package or ship and no payments to process.

What skills are helpful?

Writing is important because content is what will attract people to your website -- and ultimately what you have to offer.

Some basic marketing skills will help you develop the right kind of content and make the best affiliate program recommendations for the people you're reaching.

Another skill that can and will come in handy is search engine optimization, also referred to as SEO. The higher your website is ranked due to SEO skills, the easier it will be for people to find your website and see the affiliate promotion.

What tools are needed?

The basic tool needed is a website. Your website will be used to promote your affiliate’s products or services.

Some people actually promote affiliate programs just by putting affiliate links in their email and forum signatures - no website involved.

How do you get started?

If you already have a website you can easily find an affiliate program that pertains to it. For example if your website is about dog training, you can look for an affiliate program for dog training products to promote. 

If you don't already have a website, brainstorm animal-related topics. Consider topics you have an interest in, since it will make it easier for you to write and research about.

Once you have your topics narrowed down, you will need to do some research to see if your topic has an audience. There are several ways to do this online. One nifty, free, tool, is the Wordtracker Free Keyword Tool.

After you have signed up for the affiliate program you will be given an ID. This unique ID will be used in the links that you provide on your website. This is how the person or company you signed up with will keep track of your referrals and payments due.

These are the basics of affiliate marketing. If you are looking for a more in-depth study, I recommend The Super Affiliate Handbook by Rosalind Gardner. If anyone knows what it takes to make money as an affiliate it's Rosalind. She went from being an air traffic controller to a super affiliate who has reportedly earned $500,000 plus per year.