How to get started with affiliate marketing for beginners.
Let me tell you how I first got started in internet marketing and a little history about myself.
I was divorced very young (28) with 4 children. Not wanting to put my children in daycare, I decided to work from home.
So I went to cosmetology school where I could get the training and licensed to open a hair salon in my home.
After graduating from cosmetology school, my father converted my garage into a hair salon, making it convenient for me to work and still take care of my family.
After many years my business grew into a 20 person salon and day spa in a very busy location, where I worked until I sold my business and retired.
Being retired.
So when I sold my business and retired, guess what? I was very bored.
I was watching my twin grandsons a couple of days a week so my daughter-in-law could work but as they got older and were in school part of the day, that didn’t keep me busy enough.
Learning affiliate marketing
That’s when I started checking out the internet to see what was available without any startup costs, because I was far from rich and did not have a big retirement.
I was always seeing ads online about work from home Moms, so I checked it out.
I really thought there was a legitimate way to earn money online without a large investment, but I was not sure where to look. After many hours of research I found out you have many options.
Some cost money and some are free. Not knowing which avenue to travel I got discouraged and stopped searching.
Free seminar
I’m assuming, due to my internet searching, a few weeks later, I received a postcard inviting myself and a guest to a free local seminar. It described that there is money to be made in affiliate marketing.
I had no idea what that entailed, so my friend and I decided to attend. It was being hosted by someone who has been very successful in this field.
The class was very informative, so we decided to take the advanced 3-day course that was offered. It was a lot of money but we thought we were on to something.
Watch out for the scams
We received so much information it was like information overload. It all sounded very interesting and they had plenty to share.
Unfortunately, they were trying to get us to buy into some very expensive upsells. We had decided not to invest any more money until we were able to start earning some money.
I’m sure you could earn money with the information they gave us if you were more knowledgeable about the computer and the internet then we were.
After working with the information we received for about 6 months I decided that it was way over our heads. I needed someone to take me by the hand and show me everything.
I was not able to earn money as easy as they said it would be. I did earn some money with pay per click. But it was not much.
Partly because the product I was selling was too inexpensive. But being stubborn I kept working at it.
But be very careful
You will receive so many offers of help that it will be enticing to check them all out. That is one thing you don’t want to do.
Browse the internet and research as much as you can. Then find a system you think is a good fit and follow it.
Be very careful, there are some real scams out there and you could lose a lot of money. I know I almost did.
Be careful that you don’t get side-tracked and start following the next new “Guru” that comes down the pike. There are no get rich quick systems that work in your favor.
You have to learn, work hard and pay your dues.
After buying some inexpensive courses and not getting very far, I tried coaching with some success.
I finally did get my own site up and running and doing ok. And then one day while searching the net I came across Wealthy Affiliate. I joined for FREE immediately.
I had found their website quite a while ago before they offered the free starter membership so I never joined. I really wish I had. But better late than never and I have never looked back.
Within 2 days I had signed up for the Premium course. I knew that this was the best place to be. They are ranked #1 in training. And they teach every think from soup to nuts about affiliate marketing.
And I have checked out a ton of them. It is one of the best programs available. Click here to check out my review of Wealthy Affiliate.
It is ranked #1 in affiliate training and offers so much training, even for the Starter course, which is free but limited.
There are many advantages to internet marketing, you don’t need big sums of money for start-up cost (rent, inventory, payroll, ect).
It can be done from home, in your pajamas, while watching your children, while on vacation or while you sleep. It will generate money 24-7.
That’s why I wrote this, to help take the mystery out of internet marketing.
Here are some of the first steps I would recommend.
First you want to find your niche. That is something that you know and love. It could be a hobby like cooking, gardening, pets, or sports. Narrow it down to something specific. If you enjoy golf, you could promote golf club, golf shoes, clothes golf bags, the list goes on. Whatever you have an interest in and know something about, and can enjoy writing about it.
It’s important that you have some knowledge of your niche because you will be writing a lot of articles relevant to it.
Then you need to find products to sell in that niche. These can be found on affiliate networks like Clickbank or Amazon. Both sites have plenty of products and a host of tutorials to help inform you .But, there are many other affiliate programs available.
This is a simple overview to point you in the right direction. There is mind boggling amounts of information on the internet or in bookstores.
If you want an easy introduction to internet marketing, go to my review of Wealthy Affiliate. They have all the tools and training you could possibly use and the Starter program is $0. cost No credit card needed. In this program you have limited access, but it lets you get the feel of what they have to offer and see if it’s a good fit for you.
The training is unbelievable. The Premium is $49.00 a month with the first month for $19.00.
I hope this article has enlightened you and good luck. Please leave a comment or question below. If I can help you in anyway, please feel free to contact me and I will do all I can to help. I would love to hear for you. Please leave your comments below and hopefully I’ll see you on the inside. Thanks, Deanna.
supersuccessfulaffiliate.com
Hi Deanna, This is really is a well written and well thought out post, it’s an absolutely brilliant read for someone who is just starting out with affiliate marketing, in fact there is some great advice for anyone who may be starting out with any kind of online marketing, especially being careful and watching out for the scams, of which there are many to be on the lookout for, I am already a member of wealthy affiliate so I can confirm that everything you have said is absolutely true, I would recommend to anyone who is just starting out with online marketing to come here to your website and read this post, take care.
Hi Russ, Thanks for your comments and yes, Wealthy Affiliate is the best place to learn how to make money online. Seen so many scams, I’m surprised we stick with this journey. That’s why I’m so glad I found WA.Thanks again, Deanna
Oh this is very nice. I have seen some scams like the one you were invited to. Though this one is not a seminar, it is an online platform they said was free but has upsells, i agree that it is important for one to learn the basics of internet marketing and a platform like wealthy affiliate has all the needs that one will have. I love this post. Nice post.
Thanks, Henderson, I really appreciate your insightful comments. Yes, watch out for the upsells, right. Thanks again, Deanna
I have seen a number of platforms online but i think for anyone who is just beginning with affiliate marketing, it is actually better to go for research to know the best so as avoid spending unnecessary money on some platforms that can be out there only to exploit those that are looking to make money in affiliate marketing. Beginners should also note that affiliate marketing is not a get rich quick scheme and making money will only take dedication and time.
I agree John, There is so much unethical information, it’s hard to know what is good and what isn’t. If you are lucky you will land on Wealthy Affiliate, thanks for the comments, Deanna
wow! thanks for sharing your experience with us all and I learned from you. Your story surely motivates me to try something similar out too and see if it works for m. well, 49$ is not too much of a risk to try it out to know if it is actually meant for me. Affiliate marketing has been trending for so long and I have been scammed for quite a lot of time. I hope that this time around, everything would work well. Thanks for this though
Thank you for your favorable comments. Yes, affiliate marketing can be tricky. Better to go with a tried and true program and Wealthy Affiliate is just that, Thanks again, Deanna
Great to read about your story here and how you finally got to learn affiliate marketing. Well, I hate my job and I really wish to get out of it but seeing this right now, I’m grateful to see here. I will actually try to follow your guide here because I know it would help me out with affiliate marketing proper. Besides the price is actually okay and still considerable. thanks
Hi Bella, there is nothing worse than not being happy in your job, it makes it very hard to go to work every day. Hopefully Wealthy Affiliate will show you the way to a brighter future, and if I can be of assistance I will. Thanks again, Deanna