Top 10 Reasons to Become an Affiliate Marketer
Life was so much simpler back when my online business consisted ONLY of affiliate sites.
The sites were all in place, my affiliated merchants handled everything related to orders and I had no need for a personal assistant to manage the customer service end of my business.
I could literally take off on vacation for 6 weeks and know that the sales and checks would keep coming in.
I wasn’t surprised therefore when one of my clients mentioned that he was moving AWAY from selling his own products and going BACK to promoting more affiliate programs just for the simplicity and freedom.
Although there are dozens of benefits to affiliate marketing in addition to freedom and simplicity, here are my top 10 reasons to make money online aas an affiliate marketer.
-
No Product Development Costs
The cost to develop and produce a new product is expensive! But you needn’t worry about that as an affiliate.
-
Low Cost Set-up
Got a desk, Internet-connected computer and word-processing software? You’re in business!
-
No Fees or Geographic Limits on Distribution
Affiliate programs are usually free to join, and market reach is limited only by the affiliate’s ability to promote his or her web site.
-
Choose From Thousands of Products and Services
What isn’t sold online? With affiliate networks like Commission Junction, Be Free and Linkshare, it’s easy to find products related to your current or planned web site.
-
No Merchant Account Required
Forget the problems associated with collecting and storing names, addresses, credit card numbers, etc. The merchant handles all payment processing, so you never have to lose sleep over chargebacks, fraud or losing your merchant account.
-
No Inventory to Carry
Even if you live in a small one-bedroom apartment, you can sell large items without storage concerns.
-
No Shipping Costs
Don’t worry about buying packing supplies or postal rates. The cost and hassle to prepare and ship products to customers worldwide belongs to the merchant.
-
No Customer Concerns
Do you hate the prospect of dealing with nasty people? Don’t worry about it! The merchant handles the snivelers.
-
Make Money While You Sleep
What other business allows you as a sole proprietor to keep your doors open and keep making money even when you take breaks or after you go home for the night?
-
High Income Potential
With your own affiliate business your income potential is limited only by your desire, effort and imagination – not your boss.
Relatively low outlay of resources with huge potential returns truly makes affiliate marketing on the Internet an outstanding business opportunity.
Want more info?
Rosalind Gardner is a Super Affiliate blogger, author, speaker, and Internet marketing consultant.
If you enjoyed this article and want to be notified the next time Rosalind writes something, subscribe to her RSS feed or the No-Hype, No-BS, No Spam NPT newsletter. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Thanks for visiting!
Related Posts
- Can I Really Make Money as an Affiliate Marketer?
- If I Had to Start Over as an Affiliate Marketer…
- 10 Reasons to Avoid the Product Launch Bandwagon
- 5 Reasons a Site Won’t Make Money
- Affiliate Business Financing 101
Very true, affiliate marketing is the best way to get started and for people who don’t love playing this game, I agree that it’s a great model to stick with.
Also, just wanted to thank you Rosalind. Your book was one of the few I bought years ago (2006) when I was getting started and it helped get me on my way
Cheers,
Sean
Hi Sean,
Happy to have helped you on your way. Feel free to drop me a note with your success story one of these days and we’ll profile your affiliate business.
Cheers,
Ros
Hey Rosalind,
I hope you are having a blast on your vacation!
Yeah, you got it nailed down with this article!
In fact I am “going dark” for a while on my training material because of the massive infrastructure required to support customers and I am going back to building affiliate sites because they are MUCH easier to operate.
While I love planning a product and implementing a sales process, the support of customers takes a LOT of effort and cripples the ability to be truly free.
Call me when you get home…
We still haven’t had our “Play a round of golf whether we like it or not” this summer… Can’t wait to drive Ed nuts with our style of golf
Colin,
Excellent time in Alaska and the Yukon, thanks!
Good to see you back on the affiliate track for all the right reasons.
Let me know when you’ll be in the OK and we’ll do that dreaded round of golf.
Cheers,
Ros
Ros,
Sounds like most of your beef with selling your own product is related to physical items. What about information products? Do you feel the same way about having a product that you can solicit thru CB or e-mail backends?
Hi Bryan,
You’re absolutely right… I wouldn’t want to have to deal with packaging and delivery unless I could find another setup like the my dropship site at WindingWay.com which is primarily managed by my executive/virtual assistant.
As for information products through CB… I’m definitely a big proponent of going that route, having done so for the last 6 years!
Cheers,
Ros
Rosalind,
Affiliate marketing is by far my top choice. I was thinking of getting a site from yourworkfromhomeplace.com for something extra on the side. Maybe I can learn a little more without having to do much. Not like I’m trying to be lazy, but turn key just sounds so sweet to me. Life would be more like your vacation!
Great post! Don’t forget that most people who make their own products (physical or digital) don’t focus enough on whether there is a market for their products. They spend most of their time creating the product. So starting with affiliate products (and even staying with them) will determine if you can get enough traffic and make enough sales of other people’s products, as well as determine what is selling (ie finding hot markets). If you can’t do that you probably won’t sell your own stuff either.
I have built membership sites and sell my own information products which is great, but requires all the things you mention, such as websites/blogs, membership software, shopping carts, email autoresponders, possible merchant accounts, etc.
Hi Rosalind;
I’ve read, “Super Affiliate Handbook,” and believe it should be required reading for anyone starting out, as I am. Does your newer book “Make a Fortune promoting Other People’s Stuff Online” provide the same information or is it completely new information?
I suspect you have numerous sites pre-selling products. Could you point me to a few of your product pre-sell sites? I would like to see what they look like. You are doing such a great job, I would hate recreating the wheel.
Thank you,
Richard
Hello Richard,
Thanks for the kudos. I like to point folks to 101Date.com as my best example of an affiliate site as well as the one you are looking at now, of course.
Cheers,
Ros
I absolutely love Affiliate marketing. as you said your time is your own.. no Boss to worry about and you get to determine your own income.. heaven eh?
Hi Kenny,
Heaven indeed!
Cheers,
Ros
Hi Ros, has this happened before?
I purchased your affiliates handbook, which I was studying thoroughly and enjoying. I had it stored in its own folder on my drive, and accessed it daily.
The other day I installed an updated Norton security on the computer, and it ran a complete scan through the system, and later that day, I went for your book and it had gone. I thought maybe it had relocated itself somehow, but frankly, it’s vanished. Has this ever happened before, do you know?
I’m just wondering if because there are so many links in the handbook, that maybe Norton picked up on one and just scrubbed it. I’m not a computer genius but I wouldn’t have thought this was possible.
I’m at a loss to know what has happened.
Anyway, I guess I’ll just stay tuned with your news letters.
Cheers.
Keith
Hi Keith,
Not sure if Norton was the problem or not, but I’ve just reset the timer on the download and resent the link for you to be able to do so.
By the way, I’ve been using Trend Micro for the past couple of years and love it… none of that Norton weirdness anymore. Here’s a free trial link for you.
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Ros
Hi Rosalind. Thanks for the article! I have been working online full time for over 5 years, and have experience with being an affiliate marketer and also experience as a merchant. Although I like to make money as an affiliate – because I do not need to handle any customer service issues, I prefer being a merchant. I realize the work involved is way more intensive, but I enjoy helping others and find it very fulfilling and worth the time. I think the first point, you said that creating your own product costs money – if you create a digital item (ebook) the cost is minimal. Thanks again!
Hi Holly,
Excellent point, and I would hope that all affiliates plan to eventually create and sell their own products.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to start and learn about doing business online,without all the hassles of being a merchant — a great way to hone one’s skills.
And you’re right. Having had a digital info product online for over 6 years now, that’s the route I would most highly recommend in terms of becoming an online merchant.
However, it did take me 6 months to write and I’ve been maintaining it ever since – but the feedback and success stories that have evolved from that project are more than worth the effort involved.
Cheers,
Ros
I think if one sticks to one thing and focuses on it, they can make a lot more money much faster than trying to cook too many hamburgers. People often want a quick fix and not prepared to spend the time required that will take them to a solid income threshold.
A good friend of mine banks on average $20,000 PER DAY (not a typo!) from affiliate marketing because he stuck to his guns and whilst all the other folks were scrambling for the next big product that was supposed to make them rich, he plugged away until he cracked the code.
And he’s enjoying the EXACT lifestyle benefits Rosalind mentioned in her post.
Hello Rosalind,
I am new here, I was about to start being an affiliate but need more info for me to really get along. I hope you can send more tips and do’s and dont’s so that I may not fail on this business.Thanks
very nice post
Reminds me of why I started in affiliate marketing years ago. You’ve been providing great advice for a long time. Just wanted to let you know it is much appreciated.
Good post. Congratulations
These are truly very good reasons on why it’s best to do affiliate marketing. Personally, I always try to be as open as possible about the fact and I actually have an “Affiliate Disclosure” page.
What a great list for begginers. Even for people doing this for awhile there are some good tips here. Thanks for the post.
Hi Rosalind,
I really love your handbook and finish reading it in a record time. This is also the only ebook I read from cover to cover. Unlike other ebooks, the handbook is well organized and written. However, I don’t see you talking about EPN affiliate program. Is it a very profitable affiliate program? Thanks,
Paula
I am agree with you points, especially number 9 it’s true many experience already prove that affiliate marketing is good business in this times. And like you said it can make money when we are sleep. So this will save our times to rest.
Hi Rosalind,
Your post lists 10 very attractive features of affiliate marketing.
I came to visit your blog because of reading about you and your Super Affiliate Handbook on other blogs.
I will be visiting again to learn more about your perspective on marketing.
Vance
>>Make Money While You Sleep
Now, that is simply not true; if it were true, then why do you wake up to send those endorsement emails to your list or post reviews about affiliate products on your blog, LOL?
Just kidding btw!
Personally I believe that unless you are very happy to work for a rude boss who does not even know how to communicate with you decently, much less appreciate your hard work with a decent salary, much, there is no better career option to affiliate marketing. It may not be not as easy it used to be about 2 years ago, but it is still way better than a JOB!
Very good article,
it is a true that affiliate marketing can bring more money
without lots of overhead cost
One of the reasons affiliate programs are so popular is that they offer a win-win situation for both merchant and affiliate.
Merchant’s Win: The merchant’s cost for advertising a particular product is mostly limited to the commission paid to an affiliate, and the merchant only has to pay when a purchase is complete.
Affiliate’s Win: The site owner should make money if enough visitors click on the affiliate links and make purchases. The affiliate doesn’t have to go through the setting up e-commerce functions, taking credit cards, or shipping products. They just join affiliate programs and let someone else do the “hard stuff.”
This is very good information..
Will you be distributing a new Super Affiliate Handbook this month? If I have already purchased one will I need to purchase another to get the revised addition?
I love being an affiliate marketer. The best thing for me as that you can start making money with no cost whatsoever even though to be more professional looking, some fees may be associated such as domain names, hosting and such. Very good article.
Hi,
I’ve been an affiliate marketer for years and make a decent amount, but do you have any tips as to how to make that “next step”? It’s hard to think of ways to increase affiliate sales.
Oh. This seems to be the excellent list of things which you can get if you are an affiliate marketer. I always wish to learn this thing but have not got good team to learn it in a proper way than getting the help of internet. These 10 reasons which you have pointed out to kindled the fire in me to become an affiliate marketer.