Quick Answer: You need to start a website on your own domain if you’re serious about affiliate marketing (unless you have a massive social media following) because it’s the best way to drive traffic and sales. You could start a site on a free domain but it’ll be hard to build credibility and rank in Google which is why having your own domain name is always the smarter move.
Become an affiliate marketer and you basically have 3 choices:
- Do it without a website and try other traffic sources like email, social etc.
- Build a website on a free domain
- Build a website on your own domain (recommended)
Starting an affiliate marketing website on your own domain name is easier than you think. Gone are the days you need to be a technical whizz but it is foundational if you want to build a strong and thriving online business.
And if you’ve never registered a domain name before or have no clue how to start a website for affiliate marketing, take the free Commission Academy course here and we’ll walk you through it click by click.
If You Don’t Have A Domain For Affiliate Marketing…
Social media is a great free traffic source for affiliates who don’t have a domain name.
This is what made social media advertising the go-to option for most marketers. The world is on social media so why advertise anywhere else?
Traffic matters in social media and you go where the traffic is. Social media ads are highly targeted and easily put your offer right in front of potential buyers.
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other social media platforms host virtual life 27/7 and have become way more powerful than conventional blogs and websites.
The domain name was extremely important before social media erupted. Veteran affiliate marketers have made the most of wisely set-up domains but things have changed over the years.
The game is different for beginners. Mindsets have changed and people do not readily listen to what websites or blogs say unless they are reading something from a highly trusted and well-established author.
Join Affiliate Programs That Don’t Require A Website
You might have gone through different affiliate programs and noticed some of them ask for a domain name and website URL whereas many are okay with social media page that has at least 5000 followers or subscribers.
You can apply for these affiliate programs if you have a social media page that meets their requirements.
The Amazon Associates Program is one such example and you can find scores of promising affiliate programs on affiliate networks such as ClickBank, Impact or ShareASale which do not require affiliates to have a website.
However, if you have a nice short pre-lander or a landing page, your chances of approval as an affiliate increase with the best affiliate programs.
5 Problems You’ll Face Without A Domain name
With the domain name out of question in this post, you will have to think about social media campaigns. This venture is an uneven road hosting multiple problems lined up one after the other:
- Low-quality and inconsistent traffic
- High chances of scams (bot-generated traffic from campaign hosts)
- Poor selection of offers
- Intriguing desire to run multiple campaigns at a time
- Poor analytical skills to test campaign results and failure to pinpoint loopholes
A reliable ad tracker is recommended to eliminate most of these issues in one go. Even experienced affiliate marketers generally rely on ad trackers to get rid of these problems associated with social media advertising.
5 Best Traffic Sources For Affiliates Without A Domain
1. YouTube
YouTube is arguably the centre of online activities today thanks to the unfathomable magnitude of 24/7 traffic.
Consider creating a YouTube channel with high-quality original content to use as your traffic source in the future once you achieve making it a success in terms of the number of subscribers.
YouTube lets you embed affiliate links in the video description. Check some of the most popular YouTube channels and see how they are doing it!
2. Email Marketing
Email marketing was credible… is reliable… and will remain a promising affiliate marketing tool that does not require a domain name for years to come.
It requires quite some effort since you have to maintain updated lists through a database. You invest your time and effort in copywriting and tailoring custom campaigns. Simply place the affiliate links in the email copy and send them to multiple recipients at a time.
It requires a lot of time to become a successful email marketer but once done, it becomes a reliable weapon in your arsenal. A lot depends on what value you are offering and how relevant it is to the targeted recipients.
3. Forum Posts
Community forums host highly niche-relevant traffic. These pages are mostly question-based and attract internet users in search of something important to them. Posting on these forums under the right set of questions gives you chance to reach a high-quality audience.
Forum posts can be opinions, reviews, comparisons, suggestions, or simple answers with naturally-embedded recommendations.
Reddit is the top choice in this regard.
Do not forget to check out Quora as well!
Before selecting a forum, make sure to:
- check if it is an active community
- go through all guidelines for forum posting
- verify if they permit direct or indirect promotional content
If everything is good, schedule your routine accordingly since you can only generate results through frequent, engaging, and regularly updated posts and never forget to answer questions or clarify the concerns of your readers and community members.
If you do not win trust, this whole exercise will go in vain.
4. Pay Per Click (PPC) Social Media Ads
Pay Per Click (PPC) ads on Google, Instagram, and Facebook are highly effective if you anticipate quick results and have some money to invest in ads.
The best thing is that in addition to Facebook, Instagram has also started embedding online store and website links in PPC ads. You can run the same ad on Facebook and Instagram at a time.
5. Free Content Publishing Platforms
Steemit and Medium are among the top content publishing platforms you can join and start publishing posts. They do not restrict promotional content however having an affiliate disclosure is mandatory.
Medium hosts over 100 million visitors and you can make the most of the available engagement monitoring tools to analyse the performance of your content.
Getting Your Own Domain Is Easier Than You Think
Affiliate marketing is hard without your own website on your own domain name and the truth is it’s never been easier to start an affiliate marketing website.
Take our free training here and we’ll show you exactly how it’s done.
By the end of the course, you’ll be the proud owner of a website that’s making commissions and generating income for you around the clock.
