There are a TON of reasons to start affiliate marketing.
But what holds many aspiring online entrepreneurs back from taking that all-important first step is the belief they have to know everything before they do anything.
Well, you don’t.
But if you still feel like you do then it’s ok, I’ve got you covered.
In this mega list of affiliate marketing questions, I’m gonna try and answer every possible question about affiliate marketing I can think of.
Got a burning question that’s not answered here? 🔥
Ask us in the comments below and who knows, your question might make it into the list!
Because chances are, if you’re asking, others will want to know the answer too.
Alright, let’s start with the most common question of them all…
1. What Is Affiliate Marketing & How Does It Work?
Affiliate marketing is a commission-based online business model where you make money by generating sales for online stores.
And since you’re selling other people’s products, there’s no need to source, buy, ship or handle products yourself or deal with any customer care.
Simply send people to third-party websites through your unique affiliate link and earn commissions on each successful sale.
▶ Check out our ultimate affiliate marketing guide for beginners.
2. Can Affiliate Marketing Make Me Rich?
Yes, 3% of affiliate marketers out there make $150,000+ per year.
If your goal is to become a millionaire, you can absolutely do that too. You just need to find good products and a reliable traffic source and take action consistently.
3. Where’s The Best Place To Get Started?
Forget paying a fortune for training.
Here at Commission Academy, we have a free step-by-step course that will equip you with the know-how, resources and expert mentorship you need to succeed with affiliate marketing.
Since 2020, we’ve helped over 60,000 students start thriving online businesses and escape the 9 to 5.
The training works.
4. Is Affiliate Marketing Easy To Learn?
Learning affiliate marketing is hard when you’re jumping from scam to scam or trying to figure it out on your own by watching youtube videos and getting pulled in every direction.
If you want to speed up your learning curve so you can get the results you’re after then follow a proven strategy, get the right support and take action on what you learn as you go.
5. How Long Does It Take To Learn Affiliate Marketing?
How long it will take varies from person to person but typically, you can understand the process of making money online with affiliate marketing in 5 minutes.
Of course, mastering the many skills you need as an affiliate will take longer, but you’ll get there faster with our free online course.
6. Can Anyone Do Affiliate Marketing?
Yes, anyone can do affiliate marketing if they have a laptop and WiFi.
It doesn’t matter how old you are, where you come from or what qualifications or background you have.
If you have the right drive, mindset and motivation then there’s nothing stopping you.
7. What Are The Requirements To Becoming An Affiliate Marketer?
Affiliate marketing is an open playing field meaning anyone can grab their slice of the action.
While some specific affiliate programs may have their own criteria for affiliates, there are no requirements on the whole.
Affiliate marketing isn’t for everyone though. I’d say grit and determination are essential for anyone looking to become an affiliate marketer.
8. How Do You Succeed With Affiliate Marketing?
Getting the right know-how and taking massive action are definitely the biggest things that determine whether you succeed or fail.
There are a few other factors that could make or break your affiliate marketing success.
For example, you want to:
- Pick a niche that’s popular and profitable
- Promote winning products that sell
- Target buyer-ready verticals
Once you’ve done that, it’s just a case of rinse and repeat to scale up your income.
9. Can You Start Affiliate Marketing Without Money?
Yes, it is certainly possible to start affiliate marketing for free.
In fact, join the Academy and we’ll show you exactly how to earn big with $0 down.
Starting for free is all well and good, especially if you’re on a really tight budget but as soon as possible, I’d recommend upgrading your tools to make your life easier.
I’m only talking around $100 for a website domain, hosting and keyword tools.
I give a full cost breakdown here:
10. How Much Money Can You Make With Affiliate Marketing?
It sounds so clichéd but it’s absolutely true:
The sky is the limit when it comes to how much you can earn as an affiliate.
That’s because the earning potential is just unfathomable. I mean, think about it:
- There are over 5 billion people online every day
- There are 600 million affiliate products you can promote
- We spent $1 trillion+ online last year in the US alone
- And 16% of that was spent through affiliate links
Ultimately, how much you’ll go on to earn will depend on how good you get at finding out what people want and giving it to them.
11. How Long Does It Take To Start Earning?
It took me 2 weeks to make my first commission and 12 months to replace my full-time income, but I was obsessed and all-in.
How long it’ll take you will depend on how much time you can put into this and how strong your work ethic is, but typically affiliate marketers make their first commissions at around 3-6 months and start earning $1,000+ a month consistently at around 12 to 18 months.
Assuming they’re following the right training that is.
12. How Do Affiliates Get Paid?
Affiliates get paid a set percentage on every sale they generate. Commission rates vary from affiliate program to affiliate program and can range anywhere from 1% to 90%.
Affiliates usually get paid via PayPal at the end of the month, though some programs may require a minimum number of sales or a minimum balance for you to qualify for payment.
13. Is Affiliate Marketing Fun?
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
Sometimes I have stressful days like this one.
And sometimes being your own boss means it’s hard to switch off.
That being said, I still love affiliate marketing.
And if you enjoy the feeling of building something that’s 100% yours, like setting big goals for yourself and taking massive action to smash them then you might love it too.
14. Is Affiliate Marketing Worth It?
Great question!
It’s hard work for sure and it takes a ridiculously long time to see results so it’s not for the faint-hearted.
Saying that, yes, affiliate marketing IS worth it if you’re serious about building a life-changing online income.
The earning opportunity is immense and the time freedom and location freedom is priceless.
15. Are Affiliate Marketing Courses Worth It?
Not all of them, no.
Too many people hand over their hard-earned cash for crappy courses (not gonna name names) that’ll get them nowhere.
But if you’re asking if a GOOD affiliate marketing course is worth it then yes, absolutely.
(Read this post to see what the tell-tale signs of a worthwhile affiliate marketing course are.)
Solid training like Commission Academy and Wealthy Affiliate will shave years off your learning curve by giving you a proven roadmap to follow.
They can also give you access to experienced affiliate marketing mentors to give you the personalised coaching and guidance you need to achieve big things online.
16. Is Affiliate Marketing Addictive?
Yep! Just like getting a pump lifting weights at the gym is addictive because you see a glimpse of your future self in the mirror that motivates you to keep going, when you reach your first $1,000 day you want every day to be like that so you keep hustling hard to make it happen.
17. Why Is Affiliate Marketing Booming In The 21st Century?
I call affiliate marketing the modern-day goldmine.
It really is.
Why?
I think there are 4 big reasons driving the affiliate marketing boom right now:
- We’re spending more online than ever before
- We’re using Google to help us make buying decisions
- 83% of brands now have affiliate programs
- You can get filthy rich working from home
And I don’t think any of this is gonna change anytime soon.
In fact, I’d say not only is affiliate marketing here to stay, but the best is absolutely yet to come if you get in on it now.
18. How Do You Become A Super Affiliate?
First off, let’s define what a super affiliate is:
There are different metrics people look at but I’d say a super affiliate is someone who has earned at least $100,000 in commissions. Some super affiliates make $10,000+ per day.
And what I’ll say next isn’t sexy but I’ll say it anyway:
You become a super affiliate by following a proven strategy and you stick to that strategy long enough ’til you get good at it and then you work at scaling up.
19. Is Affiliate Marketing Risky?
Compared to other business models, affiliate marketing isn’t risky at all simply because you’re putting so little money down.
Just think if you wanted to start a traditional brick-and-mortar business – you’d have to invest stacks of cash upfront for premises, renovations, insurance, staff and products.
Then compare affiliate marketing to other online business models like dropshipping, where you have to buy products, pay shipping fees and payout for paid ads, and affiliate marketing still comes out on top.
20. What Are The Most Common Newbie Mistakes?
95% of aspiring affiliate marketers fail due to not having a solid overall strategy or giving up to soon.
In other words, having a lack of clarity or a lack of patience or both.
Other common newbie mistakes include:
- Thinking you can do affiliate marketing without a website
- Choosing the wrong niche
- Not putting your audience first and coming across as a greasy salesman
- Targeting the wrong types of keywords
Watch this video for more affiliate marketing dos and don’ts:
21. Is Affiliate Marketing Commission-Based?
Yes, you get paid commissions based on your performance or how many sales you can generate.
I go through the 3 main types of affiliate commissions in this post.
My favourite type is recurring because you earn not just one-off commissions but for every sale you make, you get paid every month or every year which really starts to pay off when you’re making a steady stream of sales.
22. Is Affiliate Marketing Competitive?
Yes and no.
Affiliate marketing is competitive in the sense that some niches like health and fitness and making money online are more competitive than others with everyone jostling to win Google’s top search result for the big high-money keywords.
But it’s not competitive like two work colleagues competing for the same promotion would be for example.
Because there’s no scarcity – I genuinely think there’s more than enough space online for everyone to be crazy successful.
I’m also a great believer in finding the win-wins wherever possible and turning competitors into collaborators.
23. How Much Traffic Do You Need To Make Money?
It’s possible to generate sales with a small number of visitors, but I’d say aim for 500-1,000 daily pageviews if you want to go earn six figures plus.
Not sure how to get there?
Try our free training right here and we’ll show you how it’s done.
24. Can You Lose Money With Affiliate Marketing?
It’s rare but it does happen.
Thankfully affiliate marketing startup costs are so low you’re not exposing yourself to much risk.
I once lost $35,000 in earnings, not because of anything I’d done wrong but because the affiliate program I was promoting stopped paying and got shut down.
Here’s my story:
25. Is Affiliate Marketing Better Than Dropshipping?
You can become a millionaire with affiliate marketing and you can become a millionaire with dropshipping.
When you compare the two business models though, I think affiliate marketing is better for beginners, yes.
That’s because dropshipping comes with many high startup and running expenses associated with it. Not to mention, it’s a lot more complicated and harder to get right.
26. Can You Do Affiliate Marketing Anonymously?
Yes. You can do affiliate marketing without showing your face and use a pen name or pseudonym so you remain completely anonymous if you want.
27. How Much Do Affiliates Make Per Sale?
How much affiliates make per sale depends on 2 things:
- The product price
- The commission rate
So for example, Amazon affiliates promoting men’s watches priced at $400 with a 4% commission rate would make $16 per sale.
28. Is Affiliate Marketing A Good Career Choice For Introverts?
Yes, some of the most successful affiliate marketers today are introverts and it makes sense considering you get to work from home in peace, get to call the shots and leave the office politics behind.
In fact, in this post, I explain why I think being an introvert is actually an affiliate marketing superpower that gives you a competitive edge.
29. What’s The Hardest Part About Being An Affiliate?
It’s not finding profitable products, choosing a niche or keyword research.
I honestly think the hardest part about affiliate marketing is sticking it out long enough to see results.
This is especially with organic search engine traffic because it takes time to build out your website with content and then for that content to get rankings and pageviews and start generating sales.
So the best advice I can give you is this:
Go in with the right expectations and make sure you have the stubborn grit and determination it takes to see it through. It’ll be worth it.
30. Can You Do Affiliate Marketing On Your Smartphone?
It’s not ideal and a laptop would be better but if all you have is a phone right now then yes, it is possible.
Read our Start Affiliate Marketing On Your Phone Guide to discover the easy workarounds so you can make your dream business a reality.
31. Can You Do Affiliate Marketing If You’re Under 18?
The short answer is yes, you can do affiliate marketing if you’re aged 18 or under, but there are a few things to keep in mind…
Most affiliate programs pay via PayPal and you have to be 18 to have a PayPal account. It would also be wise to check individual affiliate program requirements before signing up.
32. Is Affiliate Marketing A Good Income Method For Students?
Yes, if you’re a student affiliate marketing is a great way to make money while you study.
Start-up costs are insanely low and there’s no cap on how much you can earn. You’ll also learn valuable income-producing skills that could set you up for life.
▶ Get your free training here.
33. What About International Students?
Yes, of course! Everything’s done online and all you need is a laptop and WiFi connection so you can work from anywhere in the world.
Affiliate marketing is a popular choice for international students as it gives you a way to support yourself while studying overseas.
See our Affiliate Marketing Guide For International Students to get started.
34. Is Affiliate Marketing Dead (Or Dying?)
No not at all!
Despite people announcing the death of affiliate marketing every year since the dawn of time, the opposite is actually true:
Online sales are up and affiliate income is higher than ever before and that will only continue.
There has never been a better time to build an affiliate marketing business and the best is yet to come.
35. Is Affiliate Marketing Still Profitable In 2024?
Yes most definitely, if you go about it the right way.
Affiliate marketing stats show an increase in affiliate earnings year on year with most affiliate marketers enjoying massive 80-90% profit margins.
36. Can You Show Me Verified Income Proof?
You got it! Take a look at:
37. What Is An Affiliate Program?
Affiliate programs are what you join to get the ability to promote an online store’s products.
There are 10,000s affiliate programs with over 600 million affiliate products and services including anything you could possibly think of buying online.
Once you sign up they’ll give you a unique affiliate link you can share online to promote other people’s products online and make money.
38. Affiliate Programs & Affiliate Networks: What’s The Difference?
An affiliate program is specific to one online brand or store whereas an affiliate network is home to sometimes hundreds of affiliate programs under one virtual roof.
Read: 5 Best Affiliate Network Affiliate Programs You Can Use In 2024
39. Are Affiliate Programs Free To Join?
Yes, they should be. You should never have to pay to become an affiliate.
In fact, I would personally avoid any affiliate program asking that asks you to pay money for the privilege of promoting their products and sending customers their way. That’s just not how it works.
40. How Many Affiliate Programs Should You Join
If you’re just starting out it’s probably best to focus on one affiliate program to begin with.
Then, once you’re seeing consistent sales, you can join more to expand your list of recommended products and maximise your income.
41. How Many Posts Do You Need Before Applying?
I would say wait until you have around 20 to 30 blog posts on your site before starting to apply for affiliate programs as this shows the prospective affiliate program that you’re a serious affiliate who can drive traffic and sales.
42. What’s The Best Way To Find Affiliate Products To Promote?
The easiest way is to simply run a quick Google search for “[your niche] affiliate programs”.
For example, you could look for:
- Yacht affiliate programs
- Airsoft affiliate programs
- Board game affiliate programs
- Crystal affiliate programs
- Hearing aid affiliate programs
- Woodworking affiliate programs
You get the idea!
Here are 5 more ways to find affiliate marketing products:
43. How Many Products Can You Promote?
The good news is you can promote as many products as you like. There’s no limit to how many products you can promote.
There are times when it’s right to recommend multiple products within a single piece of content (like a top 10 list for example) and other times when it makes sense to promote a single product (when you’re writing a product review for example).
Eventually, you want to get to the point where you’ve built an authority site with 1000s of posts and 1000s of income streams.
Just make sure the products are relevant to your content and audience and you should be ok.
44. Are Digital Products Best?
Digital products tend to offer higher affiliate commission rates because creation costs are so much lower and the product delivery is often 100% automated.
Check out these 10 best digital product affiliate programs.
45. Should You Cloak Your Affiliate Links?
Some affiliates like to cloak affiliate links to make them look cleaner while others do it to try and hide their affiliate links.
Something to keep in mind is that certain affiliate programs like Amazon Associates ban the use of link cloaking so always check the terms and conditions of your affiliate agreements to make sure you’re staying within the rules.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons and decide what works best for you.
46. Blogging Or YouTube: Which Is Best For Affiliates?
Both are equally as effective for generating sales so it comes down to personal preference.
If you prefer being behind the keyboard vs. in front of the camera then do blogging. If you’re not camera-shy and find blogging a chore then go the YouTube route.
Better yet: do both blogging AND YouTube to maximise your affiliate income.
Here at Commission Academy, we have the blog and the YouTube channel.
47. Do You Need A Website To Do Affiliate Marketing?
I’d say for 99% of people, trying to do affiliate marketing without a website is a mistake.
The only exceptions are if you:
- Are a natural on YouTube (but even then it’s a third-party website and not one you own)
- Or have a massive social media following
48. How Many Websites Do You Need for Affiliate Marketing?
You only need one website to make a lot of money with affiliate marketing.
And each website should be based on a specific niche or topic.
For beginners, Dale and I recommend working on one website and getting that profitable before starting a second as running multiple sites can quickly become overwhelming.
49. What Is A Keyword?
A keyword is simply a question or phrase people search on Google.
Bloggers will use a keyword tool like Mangools to find out how many searches a particular keyword gets searched for each month and then create content to target and rank for that keyword so their site shows up in search results and they get traffic.
50. How Many Keywords Should a Blog Post Have?
As a rule, each piece of content you publish should be focused on targeting ONE specific keyword.
That being said, Google will automatically rank your content, sometimes 100,000s of secondary or related keywords.
51. What Is Search Intent?
Search intent is the reason or motivation behind a Google search.
It’s important for affiliates to understand the search intent behind a keyword in order to be best placed to give the most helpful answer to the question and recommend the most relevant products.
52. When Is The Best Time To Start Affiliate Marketing On A Blog?
From day one if you can.
If you’ve already joined affiliate programs there’s really no need to wait until you have a specific number of blog posts or pageviews before adding affiliate links.
In fact, I’d say waiting too long could mean you’re missing out on commissions.
53. Is Affiliate Marketing A Good Side Hustle?
Yes, affiliate marketing is a great side hustle because it’s something you can do around your current schedule maybe in the evenings and/or weekends and there’s no limit to how much you can earn.
54. Is Affiliate Marketing A Scam or Legit?
No, affiliate marketing is not a scam, but a legit business model you can use as a vehicle to achieve real financial freedom online.
Just be aware that there are many affiliate marketing scams out there promising fast and effortless earnings before leading you down a path of devasting disappointment and wasted cash.
The truth is affiliate marketing requires a ton of elbow grease and the right know-how to make it work.
55. Is Affiliate Marketing A Pyramid Scheme or MLM?
No, affiliate marketing isn’t some kind of shady pyramid or multi-level marketing scheme.
As an affiliate, you get paid a set commission for direct product sales only. There are no complex compensation plans and there’s absolutely zero recruitment involved.
56. Is Affiliate Marketing A Real Business?
Yes – it’s a real business model where affiliates get paid to recommend products online to their audience and online stores reward them with a cut of the sales for sending customers their way.
57. What Methods Do Successful Affiliate Marketers Use
All successful affiliate marketers follow pretty much the same formula.
They:
- Follow a proven strategy
- Choose a good niche
- Pick relevant products
- Create helpful content
- Target buyer-ready traffic sources
Then they do this for long enough to a 6-figure monthly income.
58. Should I Buy A DFY Affiliate Marketing System?
No please don’t! It would turn out to be a very costly mistake indeed…
You see all these done-for-you systems never work because you’ve got 10,000s (sometimes 100,000s) of affiliates all sending traffic to identical landing pages with no way of personalising them or making them unique.
All this means there’s no way for you to stand out which just kills conversion rates.
59. What Is An Affiliate Marketing Niche?
A niche or market is a specific group of people you can target to promote relevant products and earn commissions. These groups can be categorised by their interests, income, age, lifestyle or location.
Watch this if you want to know the best way to choose your affiliate marketing niche:
60. What Are The Most Profitable Niches In 2024?
The most profitable affiliate marketing niches are:
- Health
- Wealth
- Home & Garden
Though the most profitable niche for you is gonna be one you know at least a little bit about and have a level of interest in.
61. High Ticket vs. Low Ticket: Which is Best?
High-ticket affiliate marketing is where you’re selling higher-priced products (sometimes as much as $5k a sale) and low-ticket is when you’re selling lower-priced products.
Which is best is much debated in affiliate marketing circles and probably will be until the end of time…
If you’re asking me though, (and I guess you are 😂) then I’d say you want a nice mix of both high and low ticket offers to cater to all budget types and maximise your earning potential.
62. What Is Considered A Good Conversion Rate?
A conversion rate higher than 2% is considered good.
On average, affiliates can expect to get between 0.5 and 5% conversion rates depending on the type of content:
- 0.5-1% for blog post articles
- 2% for email marketing
- 2-5% for YouTube
Obviously, if you’re content is high quality and more engaging than average, you can expect higher than typical results.
63. What is An Affiliate Disclosure?
An affiliate disclosure is a legally required statement where affiliates disclose their affiliations to their audience.
For bloggers this could be in the blog footer or for YouTubers this could be in the video description.
64. What Does Cookie Duration Mean?
An affiliate cookie is a small text file containing your affiliate ID that is stored on someone’s device after they click one of your affiliate links and is just one of the ways affiliate programs track sales.
30 days tends to be the average cookie duration for most affiliate programs but Amazon’s is just 24 hours.
This means you’ll get credited for any sales a customer makes within 24 hours of clicking your link.
65. Quantity vs Quality Content: Which Is Better?
The truth is you need both.
But if you have to make a choice, I would pick quality over quantity every time.
66. How Accurate Are Keyword Tools Really?
Keyword tools like this one are a vital piece of kit in any affiliate marketer’s arsenal. The information they give you is going to be strategic in creating a winning content plan that attracts millions of website visits.
That being said, it’s important to remember that no keyword tool is 100% accurate and the traffic volume and competition metrics they give you are just estimates.
67. Is It Possible To Make Passive Income With Affiliate Marketing?
Yes, of course, you can. Recent stats show affiliate marketers earn $65,800 per year on average and 20% earn $1 million+.
But it’s not like clicking a few buttons and watching the cash pour into your bank account. It’s more like you invest the time and energy upfront and then reap the rewards.
Learn the 4 steps to making passive income with affiliate marketing here.
68. How Scalable Is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is highly scalable.
The beauty of this is you can take it as far as you want to go. You can earn an extra $10,000 a month if you like or you can go all in, turn it into a career and escape the 9-5 for good.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can scale up by adding more content, hiring writers to take on some of the workload, going down the paid ads route and creating multiple websites in multiple niches to generate mutliple income streams.
69. Do Affiliates Get Free Stuff?
Actually, you can. This is one of the many unexpected perks of becoming an affiliate marketer.
For example, once you start generating sales for a company and build a solid reputation with them, they might send you free stuff like vouchers or gift cards.
I’ve known some affiliate programs offer luxury car giveaways or offer all-expense paid trip incentives to the highest-performing affiliates.
70. How Can You Tell If A Link Is an Affiliate Link?
The easiest way to tell the difference is if the website URL has extra characters at the end of it.
For example, rather than “https://www.amazon.com” it might look something like this:
“https://www.amazon.com/?&linkCode=ll2&tag=grow049-20”
71. Got Any Good Affiliate Marketing Website Examples?
One of my favourite affiliate marketing websites is WireCutter.com.
They do super in-depth product reviews and comparisons like this one on bathroom rugs for example.
I’m currently writing a full list post showing some of the best affiliate marketing website examples out there so watch this space!
72. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On YouTube?
Yes, they are.
A lot of YouTubers earn the vast majority of their income through affiliate marketing. You need to need to disclose you are an affiliate either in your video or video description.
73. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On Twitter?
Yes, you can include affiliate links in your tweets.
Just don’t go over the top and violate Twitter’s spam policies.
74. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On TikTok?
Kinda. It depends on how many followers you have. For example, you can add affiliate links to your TikTok stories if you have 10,000 followers or more.
Alternatively, you could always transfer your account over to a free business account which would enable you to add a link to your bio or use a link in bio tool to create your own landing pages.
75. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On Pinterest?
Yes, you can share affiliate links on Pinterest if you’re smart about it.
Similar to Twitter, there’s no official limit on the number of affiliate links you can share but go crazy and your account could get shut down for spam.
76. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On Facebook?
Yes, Facebook allows affiliate links as long as you’re not recommending products in a misleading that are sexual in nature or promoting them in a misleading way.
77. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On Medium?
Yes, they are as long as you don’t violate their spam policies and you include an affiliate disclosure.
The key is to integrate your affiliate links in a natural way and make sure the content you post on the platform is interesting and engaging and adds value for readers.
78. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On Instagram?
Yes, Instagram allows affiliate links. You just need to mark your posts as “Eligible For A Commission“ to disclose your affiliations.
You can use a link in bio tool like Linktree to create a custom landing page so you can include multiple affiliate links.
79. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On Quora?
Quora is a little tricky as they don’t officially allow affiliate links on their platform.
What you can do though is use the indirect approach where you give askers the best answers possible and link to a value-added blog post or article that may contain your affiliate links.
80. Are Affiliate Links Allowed On Linkedin?
I would say Linked isn’t ideal for affiliate marketing. Yes, you can add affiliate links to your bio but that’s about it.
81. Can I Be Successful At Affiliate Marketing Without Social Media
Yes of course you can! In fact, while social media can be a great additional traffic source, it should never be your main traffic source as you don’t want to build your financial future on a third-party website you have no control over.
Check out this post to learn how you can start a thriving affiliate marketing business without social media.
82. How Do You Know If An Affiliate Link Is Working?
The best way to test your affiliate links is simply to click on them yourself and see if this is reflected in your affiliate stats.
Want to double-check you’re not missing out on sales? Follow this step-by-step guide.
83. Is Affiliate Marketing The Best Way To Monetise A Blog?
If you want to start a blog or already have one then yes, affiliate marketing is one of the best monetisation methods out there.
In conjunction with paid ads networks and offering your own products and services, affiliate marketing is a powerful way to make $10,000 a month blogging.
84. Is Amazon The Best Affiliate Program Out There?
I have a love-and-hate relationship with Amazon…
On the one hand, their commission rates are atrocious and their cookie only lasts for 24 hours.
On the other, they’re very well known, people trust them and you get paid commissions for whatever people buy at the time, not just the product you linked to.
All in all, while Amazon is still worth it, I wouldn’t say they’re the best affiliate program out there…
Check out these Amazon affiliate alternatives for affiliate programs offering higher commission rates.
85. How Many Hours Do Affiliates Work Each Week?
It varies massively from person to person and how many hours you work will completely depend on your schedule and how many hours you put in.
Obviously, the more hours a week you put in, the quicker you’ll see results.
As a rough guide, I’d say 1 hour a day is a good starting point for many beginners who are building up an online business around working a full-time job and other responsibilities.
86. What Is An Affiliate Marketing Manager?
An affiliate marketing manager takes care of a company’s affiliate program by being the point of contact for affiliates, making sure they get paid accurately and on time while recruiting new affiliates to increase overall sales and revenue.
According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for this role is $70,687 per year.
87. Does Affiliate Marketing Work Without Cookies?
Yes, don’t worry.
Affiliate marketing still works without third-party cookies because there’s more than one way to track affiliate sales, including first-party cookies.
88. Do Affiliates Have To Buy The Products They Promote?
The quick answer is: no, but it’s better if you can.
I understand you might not always have the money laying around to buy every affiliate product you promote and Dale made a good point in this post about how a car salesman doesn’t own every car he sells.
The reason buying and trying out products before you recommend them is better is because it’s going to give you more credibility, and help you create more compelling reviews.
89. Can You Buy Things Through Your Own Affiliate Links?
It goes against the terms of every affiliate program I’ve ever read and will end up with you getting your commissions revoked, your ass kicked out of the program and even thrown in jail.
So don’t, it’s just not worth it!
90. What Does CPS Stand For?
CPS stands for cost per sale.
It’s a metric used to calculate how much it costs, usually talking about paid ads, to generate a sale so you can see how profitable (or not profitable) a campaign may be.
91. What Does CPA Stand For?
CPA stands for cost per action.
It’s a different type of commission where, instead of getting paid per sale, affiliates get paid when referrals complete a certain action like signing up for a trial, subscribing to an email list or downloading an app.
92. What Does CPI Stand For?
CPI stands for cost per install.
This abbreviation is mainly used by mobile app developers who pay affiliates a set amount for every referral who installs their app.
93. What Does AOV Stand For?
AOV stands for average order value.
This tells you how much money your referrals spend in total on average and is worked out by dividing your total earnings by the number of referrals.
It’s a good metric to look out for as it tells you what your average customer lifetime value is and can maybe help you to figure out if you need to switch up what you’re promoting.
94. What Does EPC Stand For?
EPC stands for earnings per click.
You know how not every click to your affiliate link will result in a sale?
Your earnings per click are worked out by diving the number of clicks by your total generated revenue to figure out… well, your average earnings per click.
95. What Is Deep Linking?
Deep linking is when you link to a specific product page as opposed to a general homepage.
Deep linking isn’t available for every affiliate program but do it if you can as it usually results in higher conversion rates.
96. Do Affiliate Links Count As Backlinks For SEO?
Yes, affiliate links DO count as backlinks.
If you’re running an affiliate program and have affiliates posting links that point to your site then these affiliate links work in pretty much the same way any other backlinks would.
This can be good news or bad news depending on the quality of the backlink sources which is why it’s always important to vet your affiliates.
97. Why Am I Getting Clicks But No Sales?
It could be you’re not pre-qualifying your referrals, driving traffic from low-quality sources or that the landing page of the product you’re promoting doesn’t convert very well.
Try this to turn more clicks into sales.
98. Affiliate & Digital Marketing: Are They The Same?
Not really…
Affiliate marketing is where affiliates are marketing another company’s products online in return for a commission.
Digital marketing is a more general term referring to any type of online advertising or promotion.
99. Does Affiliate Marketing Have A Bad Reputation?
In some circles yes, affiliate marketers have a bad name thanks to money-hungry, shortsighted affiliates who will say anything, do anything or promote anything to get the sale.
They just make the rest of us look bad.
The ironic thing is, decide from the start to put your audience first and you will go on to make a lot more money in the long run.
100. Is Affiliate Marketing Halal Or Haram In Islam?
Yes, affiliate marketing is halal and in complete compliance with Islamic law if you’re promoting halal products in a truthful and honest way and you’re making commissions that don’t result in higher prices for customers.
Promote haram products that contain pork, gelatin, alcohol or anything else forbidden for consumption in Islam though, or even if you’re selling halal products but in a misleading way and this would mean your affiliate marketing is haram.
Watch this video to find out more:
101. Who Invented Affiliate Marketing?
William J. Tobin is often credited with coming up with the idea of affiliate marketing back in 1989.
It didn’t really become mainstream though until the launch of the Amazon Affiliate Program in 1996.
102. What Skills Do You Need For Affiliate Marketing?
There are a wide-ranging set of skills you need to do affiliate marketing well, like:
- Keyword research and SEO
- Content creation
- Website building
- Product promotion
- Traffic generation
- Email marketing
The best way to acquire these skills?
Just start at the beginning and master ONE at a time.
103. Is Affiliate Marketing A High-Income Skill?
I would say so, yes. Affiliate marketing is a high-income skill definitely worth learning.
But just like getting a gym membership doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get the body of your dreams, signing up to an affiliate program doesn’t automatically mean you’ll make a passive income.
You have to be willing to follow the right training and put in the heavy work.
104. Do I Have Enough Time To Start Affiliate Marketing?
Yes you do! It’s all a matter of priorities.
When I started affiliate marketing I was working full-time and put in any time I had on the evenings and weekends.
If you’re serious about achieving financial freedom, living the laptop lifestyle and building a strong and stable financial future for yourself and your family then you’ll be amazed at how much time you can find in your day to make it happen.
105. When is The Best Time To Start Affiliate Marketing?
The best time to start is right now.
So many people read about affiliate marketing, watch videos about affiliate marketing and listen to podcasts about affiliate marketing because they don’t have the courage to take that first step.
Just do it. Trust me, you’ll be so glad you did.
You don’t have to have everything figured out before you make a move.
Start your free training today and take it one lesson at a time.
You’ll get there! 💪
