If you are looking at starting an online business, it’s best to have a website.
Your website is your online property and where you can direct your audience in hopes to make some money. Building a website in this internet age is not as complicated as you may think.
Before we look at how to build a website for free, I wanted to take some time to answer some questions about using a website to make money with affiliate marketing.
What is Affiliate Marketing and How Does it Work?
Affiliate marketing is fundamentally you promoting another companies products.
There are thousands of products that are available for you to advertise on your website. Here are some sample sites that offer great affiliate programs:
1. Clickbank
2. Amazon
3. Walmart
4. Bestbuy
5. Commission Junction
That's just to name a few.
Amazon alone has 12 million products for you to promote on your site. That’s a lot of products, and a whole bunch of choices.
You refer your visitors to a business, and if your referral purchases a product then you get a commission, and that’s how you essentially make money.
Commissions range from 2% all the way to 70%.
Do You Need a Website To Do Affiliate Marketing?
No. You don't.
When you sign-up as an affiliate with a business you are given an "affiliate link." If someone clicks that link and buys a product - you get paid.
It's that simple.
It doesn’t matter how someone clicks on that affiliate link - they just have to click on it. You could use a whole bunch of ways to promote an affiliate link.
1. Social Media
2. Email Marketing
3. Forums
4. Social Groups
The problem is that most people see affiliate links as spam. People don’t want to be sold to, they want to be helped.
A website is a great tool to help people solve their problems. When you help people solve a problem they are more likely to click an affiliate link and buy a product.
An example would be this website.
You clicked on a link and came to this website because you have a problem: you want to become an affiliate marketer but are not sure how.
This website allows me to guide you thought the process and give you tips and tools on how to be successful. On this website there are affiliate links where I earn commissions (at no extra cost to you), from the products that you buy.
Normally, you wouldn’t click on affiliate links, but because you are reading about my success and what tools I used to get there, you don’t hesitate purchasing the products.
I give you beneficial information and in return you purchase products that solve your problem.
You don’t feel sold to and I make money from commissions - it’s a win-win.
So, though it’s true that you essentially don’t need a website, it is also true that having a website is the best way to make money online.
Having a website is also the best way to create a passive income.
Why?
Websites don't sleep.
If you are on vacation and don't have time to work on your website, your website still works for you.
Someone can come to your website, buy a product and you get a commission.
You can be asleep, and still make money. This is why I believe having a website for your affiliate business is so important.
There are two types of websites that work with affiliate marketing:
1. Blog
2. Landing Page
The name blog came from the thought, “Web Log” and it’s a website filled with articles or musings. Each articles is carefully created with the intention of driving traffic to a “sales page” which can be a landing page or blog post.
A landing page is a single page of information about a product or service with the intention of convincing someone that they need that product or service.
Having a website or online home is essential if you are going to be successful with internet marketing.
How Do You Get Started With Affiliate Marketing?
That's a good question. The way I'll answer this question is by telling you my story.
I always wanted to make money online, but like many people, I always thought that it was a scam.
One day, I thought I would do some research on making money online, and what I discovered was incredible.
I learned two important facts about making money on the internet:
1. People were making money online (lots of money) and,
2. Not all online money making methods are scams
I learned that the best way to make money online was not: surveys, coupons, data entry or an MLM business. The best way was through affiliate marketing.
So, affiliate marketing is what I started to pursue.
Then one day I came across a community called Wealthy Affiliate. Now, I was sceptical at first. I talked to some people within the community and asked a lot of questions. I had the attitude right away that this was a scam and I drilled people to try to get it out of them. After hearing people’s stories and successes, I came to the conclusion that Wealthy Affiliate wasn’t a scam but instead a university for those wanting to know more about making money with affiliate marketing.
In two days, I upgraded to premium and haven’t looked back since.
I am one out of thousands that have the same story of success. It’s the best place to learn affiliate marketing, period.
How Do You Make an Affiliate Marketing website?
Okay. This is the main purpose of this post.
How do you go about and make a website for your new affiliate business.
It’s Not As Hard As You May Think
Most people believe that they can't get involved in affiliate marketing because they are not tech savvy.
“I can’t build a website,” is what people will often say.
They shy away from computers, and are nervous to step out into something new.
Building a website in the internet age is not difficult to do. You can actually create a website for free on the Wealthy Affiliate platform
Use Wealthy Affiliate To Build Your Website
Wealthy Affiliate offers an excellent set of tools for building your website, and as you’ll see from the video below, you can have a website online pretty fast.
Notice the simple steps of building your website.
1. Choose a name for your site and create a domain name (Whether that’s a purchased domain name or a sub-domain name for free).
2. Choose a theme for your site
3. Click Build
4. Begin to customize your design
I want to assure you that building a website is not going to be an obstacle for you with affiliate marketing - with the help of Wealthy Affiliate you can get an online presence without breaking the bank.
Which other affiliate program actually allows you to start for free? You can build a website for free right now?
If you’re scared of getting involved in affiliate marketing, I encourage to trust your abilities and gamble on your future.
You will be glad that you started this journey.
Thinkk about the picture above. It’s a screenshot of an actual Wealthy Affiliate member who built their website after years of not knowing how to start.
This is what Wealthy Affiliate can do for you.
You can be the next success story.