In this post, I’ll share 7 wildly different affiliate marketing strategies for beginners.
Often affiliate marketing is sold as a 1 size fits all solution but in reality, not every affiliate marketing strategy will suit you.
Some people don’t like creating content, some don’t want to stand in front of a camera, some hate writing, and others aren’t interested in making product reviews.
That is why this piece of content you’re reading exists.
This is for people who just started with affiliate marketing or are interested in affiliate marketing but want to know what is possible and which strategy would fit you naturally.
Let’s take a look at these 7 affiliate marketing strategies for beginners so you can find out which strategy you should pick.
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Affiliate Marketing Pros and Cons
1. Affiliate Marketing Strategy: Launch Jacking
Launch jacking is an affiliate marketing strategy that takes advantage of the hype of new products to earn affiliate commissions.
Most companies planning on launching a product will put a lot of money into marketing to have the most successful launch possible.
They’ll do interviews with influencers, post press releases, leverage paid advertising, and more marketing strategies to make the product relevant.
As a result, interested people will start looking up information about the new product.
As someone who does “Launch Jacking,” you’ll position yourself so that these people will find your content about the new product.
Why is launch jacking a great strategy for beginners?
One of the biggest problems affiliate marketing beginners have is getting eyes on their content because of the competition.
When you target newly launched products not a lot of people have created content about it which gives you the chance to get some affiliate commissions quickly.
Pros of launch jacking
Not a lot of competition
There’s often free access to the products
Cons of launch jacking
Traffic often dies down after the initial hype for the launch
Litters your website with affiliate links
2. Facebook Group Affiliate Marketing
Facebook group affiliate marketing requires you to build a Facebook Group that potential leads can join.
The Facebook group isn’t primarily meant for people to talk about their niche but will be a group on which people can promote their content.
These types of Facebook groups still attract a lot of people even now when Facebook has had a significant drop in frequently active users compared to when Instagram and TikTok didn’t exist.
I still use some of these Facebook Groups, every now and then, when I’m looking for a few quick leads.
A popular method back in the day was to share digital versions of famous books in the niche on these groups and put affiliate links in them to get sales.
Why is Facebook Group Affiliate Marketing a great strategy for beginners?
It’s a great strategy because you don’t necessarily have to be an expert content creator to get noticed.
You just let people promote their content on your Facebook Group and you can promote your affiliate products between the promotion posts.
Pros of Facebook Group affiliate marketing
No need to create a lot of quality content
You create a list of people you can keep providing affiliate offers
Cons of Affiliate Marketing
Getting enough people in the group might require paid ads
3.YouTube Affiliate Marketing
YouTube affiliate marketing is a great way to start your affiliate journey. Just like with search engines such as Google, you can use search engine optimization to get your content seen.
Most YouTube Affiliate marketers tend to make product reviews or educational content and put their affiliate links or opt-in page links in the description.
Since the YouTube platform doesn’t have a big problem with content creators putting these links under your video it’s a great way to earn commissions.
Why is YouTube Affiliate Marketing a great strategy for beginners?
It’s a lot easier to get videos seen on YouTube than through content ranked on Google.
You have a lot less competition to deal with and they also show related videos on the side of the YouTube video watching which gives you a higher chance of being seen.
Pros of YouTube Affiliate Marketing
Your videos can be shown to people sometimes years after making them
It’s easier to rank for than Google
You have the freedom to put as many links under the video as you want
Cons of YouTube Affiliate Marketing
You’ll need to have equipment to film the content
You’ll likely have to make content consistently to stay relevant
4. Faceless YouTube Affiliate Marketing
This is a variation of traditional YouTube Affiliate Marketing but you aren’t showing your face. This doesn’t mean you hire an actor to make your video (even though you could).
You can simply make the audio for the video and use screen recording software, showing pictures, or animations while you’re talking.
There are thousands of YouTube channels currently earning a lot of money without anyone knowing who they are.
Why is Faceless YouTube Affiliate Marketing a great strategy for beginners?
It has the same upside as traditional YouTube Affiliate Marketing but you don’t have to show your face. If you aren’t good with presentations or you’re not comfortable putting yourself out there this is a great alternative that still has the same upside.
Pros of YouTube Affiliate Marketing
Anonymity
Your videos can be shown to people sometimes years after making them
It’s easier to rank for than Google
You have the freedom to put as many links under the video as you want
Cons of YouTube Affiliate Marketing
It might be harder to build a relationship with your leads
You’ll need to have equipment to film the content
You’ll likely have to make content consistently to stay relevant
5. Pinterest Affiliate Marketing
Pinterest to most is known as a visual social media platform but it actually is more of a search engine such as Google and YouTube.
You can type something in the search bar and a collection of pins (that’s what they call images) related to the keywords you typed in appear.
So where does affiliate marketing come in? In the description of these pins it’s possible to insert links to other websites.
Most people use them to get visitors to their blog but you can also use them for affiliate marketing.
You aren’t allowed to put affiliate links in the description but you can link to pages that contain affiliate links which makes it great for affiliate marketing.
Why is Pinterest Affiliate Marketing a great strategy for beginners?
Pinterest might not be as viral as it used to be but it’s a lot easier to rank your pins than to rank videos on YouTube or web pages on Google.
The biggest reason is that more results are shown on a page when you type a keyword and those with backlinks to their content don’t get preferential treatment.
Pros of Pinterest Affiliate Marketing
It’s easier to rank content and get it seen
You can have multiple pins directed at the same page
Cons of Pinterest Affiliate Marketing
You still have to create an engaging Pin to get link clicks.
Male-dominant niches are less active on Pinterest
6. Affiliate Marketing Strategy: Blogging
Blogging might not be as potent as it used to be in the early 2010s but it’s still a great strategy for those trying to get into affiliate marketing.
Most people think that blogs are always written but this isn’t true. A blog is simply a website with a collection of pages with content on them.
These pages can contain written content but a blog could also contain videos or podcast episodes.
Why is blogging a great Affiliate Marketing strategy for beginners?
The content you publish will help to establish a relationship with your viewers making it easier to get sales the moment you get traffic.
Pros of blogging
You can market a blog with multiple methods
You establish a relationship through your content
People are more willing to return to your content
Cons of blogging
You’ll frequently have to create content
You’ll have to do website maintenance
8. Affiliate Marketing Strategy: Email Marketing
Email Marketing is one of the most popular affiliate marketing strategies.
Most affiliate marketers that focus on other strategies still use email marketing to earn commissions since you can communicate with people even after they leave your content.
As an email marketer, you drive traffic to an opt-in page where people share with you their email addresses. You store that email address with the help of an email marketing service.
After that, you can effectively communicate with them and show them your affiliate offers.
Why is email marketing a great affiliate marketing strategy for beginners?
You don’t have to create high-quality content to attract people and you can use paid advertising to get a lot of email addresses fast.
Pros of email marketing
No need to create high-quality videos or blogs consistently
You can communicate with your email list as much as you want
Cons of email marketing
You’ll need to learn to write engaging copy or invest in a funnel
You’ll have to take time to build a relationship after getting the email address
Affiliate Marketing for beginners FAQ
What is Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a form of marketing where companies use independent parties to promote their products in exchange for commission.
How the affiliate marketing agreement is set up can differ per company. Some offer money in exchange for a free trial sign-up while others only provide a commission when a product is sold.
Where can I find affiliate programs?
There are 3 types of places where you can join affiliate programs
1. Affiliate networks such as Shareasale, Clickbank, Awin, Digistore24, etc that are affiliate program marketplaces
2. Private Affiliate Programs which are companies that run their own affiliate program
3. Merchant websites are a variation of private programs that offer hundreds of products such as Amazon Associates, Target, and Walmart.
What strategy brings in the most consistent money?
Blogging brings in the most consistent money but I’d always suggest diversifying your strategy just in case something happens.
Ideally, you have 1 main source of traffic that you spend 70% of your time on and another traffic side source you spend the rest of the time on.
Which strategy is the most affordable affiliate marketing strategy?
They all require you to spend some money but the most affordable affiliate marketing strategy would be YouTube affiliate marketing.
Where can I find more information about affiliate marketing?
Now you know some affiliate marketing strategies you can use to earn affiliate commissions but what is the next step?
I’d recommend learning as much as you can about the pros and cons, the costs, the resources you need, and more.
Luckily, I have an affiliate marketing content hub where you can find everything you need to know about affiliate marketing.
