Quick Answer: The great thing about affiliate marketing is that, unlike any other business model out there, you can start for as little as $50 a month. This includes the cost of comprehensive training, website domains, hosting and keyword tools – everything you could possibly need to succeed.
Today I’m going to show you how much money you need to get started with affiliate marketing… step-by-step.
This full cost breakdown will launch your affiliate marketing career in a way that’s:
- Affordable
- Simple
- And gives you huge earning potential
Let’s dive right in.
The $50/Month Affiliate Marketing Startup
Bottom line? There has never been a better time to become an affiliate marketer. The amount of money people spend online is up, affiliate earnings are up and it’s only going to keep getting better.
Who is going to benefit from this? You and I.
And there is no better way to set up than what I’m about to show you right now.
Here’s What You Need:
Let’s begin with affiliate marketing training: the Commission Academy Crash Course ($0)
Commission Academy is – in my opinion – the ultimate training for affiliate marketing beginners. Why? Because it’s a free and complete step-by-step course with expert 1-on-1 coaching and community support.
Then you need an affiliate website with a domain name and web hosting. Think of your domain name as your online address and the hosting as your website storage, meaning your website is live on the web whenever anyone types in your domain.
Our preferred hosting? We recommend Wealthy Affiliate ($19 first month, then $49 a month) because you get 24/7 technical support, daily backups, free SSL, WordPress comes already installed and their beginner-friendly website builder is a HUGE timesaver. You can register your domain for around $14.99 a year.
Once you’ve got your website, you’re going to need a WordPress theme. Our favourite is GeneratePress because they make it super easy to get your website looking exactly how you want. They have an excellent free version and the Premium version is only $59 a year.
Next, you’ll need a keyword tool like Jaaxy so you know what kind of content to build your website out with. The good news is Jaaxy comes included with your Wealthy Affiliate membership.
Finally, let’s talk about a logo. If you’re one of the creative types you can go ahead and use Canva (free or $12.99/month) to create your own. Canva is also a great place for stock images. Otherwise, Fiverr‘s your best bet with designers on hand to create a logo for you with prices starting at $5.
And voilà! You now have everything you need to become a huge affiliate marketing success.
The overall cost? Just $50.25 a month.
The $0 Affiliate Marketing Startup
On a really tight budget? Let’s cover how you can start affiliate marketing for free.
Here’s What You Need
For solid affiliate marketing training specifically designed for beginners, take the Commission Academy crash course ($0).
For your affiliate website, use Wealthy Affiliate’s Starter membership to get a subdomain and hosting ($0).
The tradeoff with a free website domain is that it’s more work trying to get Google rankings and we would recommend you transfer your site over to a paid domain as soon as you’re able to. But if you are looking for the free option – this is it.
Use the free version of GeneratePress to get your website looking like you want.
For your keyword tool, use Jaaxy. It’ll give you all the keyword info you need ($0).
Next, use the free version of Canva to create a professional-looking logo ($0).
And that’s it! You now have everything at your fingertips to start affiliate marketing without paying a penny. You’re welcome! 😉
3 Tips To Help Keep Your Costs Down
If you’re starting out in affiliate marketing then choosing the right budget is critical to your success. To help, here are a few money-saving tips:
1. Don’t Pay Over The Odds For Training
You can pay $1,000s and even $10,000s for affiliate marketing training, but you really don’t need to!
Here at Commission Academy, we recognise not everyone starting out has that kind of money lying around to invest in a course. This is exactly why Dale and I made the decision to offer our training program to all aspiring affiliate marketers everywhere completely free of charge.
2. Don’t Pay For Tools You Don’t Need
There are affiliate marketing scams out there saying you need to pay $297 a month (at least!) for funnel-creating software like ClickFunnels…
Other online “gurus” will tell you to shell out $197 a month for tracking software like ClickMagick…
It’s just not necessary!
All you need to start affiliate marketing is:
- Good affiliate marketing training
- A website domain and hosting
- A WordPress theme
- A keyword tool
- A logo
And sure, you can reinvest some of your online earnings back into the business to pay for things like:
- Managed hosting like BigScoots
- Advanced keyword tools like Ahrefs and Semrush
- Premium themes like GeneratePress
But that’s for further down the line. For now, just stick to the basics.
3. Master Free Traffic Before Trying Paid Ads
Diving straight into paid traffic is one surefire way to empty a newbie’s wallet. I’m serious! There’s so much terrible advice online that goes something like this:
“Use this page builder software, buy email solo ads and you’ll make commissions!”
It sounds good, but it never works. Paying out for ads is expensive and the conversion rates are ridiculously low.
Google, YouTube and Facebook ads are great options that can work really well once you’ve mastered the art of copywriting, selling and conversions… and that takes time.
It’s much better to start with free and organic traffic first so you have the space to develop your skills without depleting your bank account. It’s smart, it’s risk-free and it’s exactly what we teach inside Commission Academy.
Summary
There you have it! You now know how to launch your affiliate marketing career for $50 a month (recommended), or for free if you’re on a really tight budget.
This cost breakdown should give you everything you need to get started, but if you have any questions or just want some personalised advice, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. Affiliate marketing is our passion and we would love to talk with you about it!
For more information, check out our ultimate beginner’s guide on how to get started with affiliate marketing.
And don’t forget to take our free Commission Academy crash course for full step-by-step training!
thenks my brother