Are you looking to make money online in 2023 through affiliate programs? If so, there’s no better time than now to start with this affiliate marketing checklist!
You don’t need any coding experience or a website design background to make affiliate sales. With the right tools and the tips outlined in this post, anyone can jump into this industry with both feet!
To help get you started on your journey, there are seven steps that will set you up for legitimate success which I’ll cover momentarily.
These are all things that I’m doing right now, and based on my real world experience over the past year in my affiliate marketing business.
And before you ask, yes I’m making most of my revenue with affiliate commissions and did quit my full-time job.
If I could do it with a blog, then so can you. Now this will be kind of a meaty post for new affiliates, but I’ve tried to keep it as short, sweet and simple as possible.
Now onto the ultimate affiliate marketing checklist!
1. Start a website in minutes (no WordPress required)
JetPage is the perfect website builder for those looking to get a website up and running in minutes without having to deal with WordPress or landing pages.
It’s designed specifically for affiliate marketing, so you can start creating content right away instead of dealing with tech issues or broken plugins.
JetPage makes it easy to set up a beautiful website that looks great on any device.
The setup process takes just minutes – all you need to do is choose a template, add your content and images, and hit publish.
What is a game-changer with this is that you can write all of your content in Google docs, and just copy paste the whole thing over to your website. It will keep all of the formatting just as you make it in the docs.
Compared to WordPress, you actually have to copy and paste each separate paragraph, and create blocks and buttons manually which is a time-sink.
Also, your pages and all images will be automatically compressed to WebP for faster loading times, and technical SEO is optimized out of the box so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
JetPage has built-in metrics for each post so you can track how well your content is performing over time, and comes with email marketing sign ups in the right places (pop-ups being added soon).
I know too many people who spend weeks or even months just getting their website online and functional, when you could have it done in 5 minutes.
Keynotes
If you don’t want to bother with finding a web hosting company, learning WordPress, or fiddling with technical issues, then use JetPage for your affiliate marketing website.
2. Choose Your Niche based on yourself
Choosing a niche for your website is one of the most important decisions you can make, and also the one thing that people just can’t figure out at all!
It’s not just about picking something that interests you, but also finding an area where there’s enough demand to sustain your business for the long-term.
So what is the solution? Choosing a niche based on yourself! The “brand of you” as Adam Enfroy likes to call it in his Blog Growth Engine course.
The key is to think about what makes you unique and how that could be used as an advantage in terms of content creation.
For example, if you have extensive experience in finance or marketing, then this could be used as a basis for creating content related to those topics, it just makes sense.
You should also consider any special skills or knowledge that sets you apart from other people in your field.
If there are certain areas where you excel more than others, then this could give you an edge when it comes to creating content around those topics.
Another factor to consider when selecting a niche based on yourself is whether or not there’s enough demand for the type of content that would come out of it.
You don’t want to waste time and energy writing articles no one will read. Do some research into what types of searches people are making related to your chosen topics.
Choosing a niche based on yourself is important because it will help you to come up with content ideas that only you might know about.
So simply choose your own first and last name as your domain name, and move on from there.
It’s all about writing about new and emerging topics which are not yet popularized by mainstream websites. This is what allows you to compete even with a lower DR (Domain Rating) website.
Now, let’s move onto understanding keyword research and in-depth search intent.
Keynotes
A successful affiliate marketing strategy begins with choosing a niche that is both unique and has enough demand.
Consider your special skills, knowledge, passions and research the types of searches people are making related to it.
3. Understand keyword research and search intent
Keyword research is an essential part of content marketing. Knowing which words and phrases to target can help you create more effective content that your readers are actually looking for.
To do this, you need to understand the basics of keyword research and search intent.
First, use a tool like Ahrefs to identify keywords with medium competition and volume (middle-of-the-funnel keywords).
This will give you an idea of what people are searching for in relation to your topic or niche.
You should also consider related terms and long tail variations so that you can capture as much organic traffic as possible.
Once you have identified potential keywords, it’s important to analyze the search intent behind them.
What are people looking for when they type in these queries?
- Are they trying to find information about a specific product?
- Maybe they’re just looking for general advice on a particular topic?
- Or are they ready to buy something and want recommendations?
Understanding the user’s intention will help ensure that your content meets their needs and expectations.
This also helps Google to show your content, as a search engine they only serve the most relevant content to a search query.
You should also take into account any seasonal trends or changes in demand when doing keyword research.
This could be anything from holiday shopping habits to shifts in industry regulations or technology advances.
By keeping up with current events, you can make sure your content remains relevant over time while still targeting high-value keywords.
By understanding the basics of keyword research and search intent, you can create content that is tailored to your audience’s needs.
Now let’s look at how AI writing tools can help you optimize your content for success!
Keynotes
To create effective content, use keyword research tools to identify medium competition and volume keywords, analyze search intent behind them, and consider seasonal trends.
4. Utilize AI writing tools
AI writing tools are becoming increasingly popular among content marketers and small business owners.
These tools provide a way to quickly create content that is engaging, relevant, and optimized for search engines.
AI writing assistants help you to save time by automatically generating drafts, creating sentences and paragraphs, or correcting your grammar and suggesting synonyms on the fly.
One example of an AI writing assistant is Grammarly, which helps you check spelling and grammar mistakes in your written work. It also provides suggestions on how to improve the readability of your text.
This tool can be used to ensure that all your written work meets the highest standards before it’s published online.
Another example is Jasper, which uses natural language processing (NLP) and GPT-3.5 technology to generate original content from scratch based on keywords provided by the user.
This tool can help you come up with ideas for topics related to your niche as well as suggest sentences that will make your article more interesting and informative.
Finally, there are AI-powered SEO tools such as SurferSEO that allow users to analyze their competitors’ websites in order to identify opportunities for improvement.
These types of tools are game-changers and if you’re still using free alternatives like Yoast or Rankmath, then good luck.. You will need it.
AI writing tools can help you create content quickly and efficiently, saving you time and effort.
By taking advantage of these tools, you can free up more time to focus on building links through guest posting, which I’ll cover next!
Keynotes
AI writing assistants offer a great way for businesses or individuals looking to maximize their productivity when creating digital content online without having any coding knowledge whatsoever.
They provide an easy-to-use platform where users can quickly generate high quality pieces while optimizing them according to current SEO trends at the same time.
This makes it easier than ever before for anyone looking to make money online through blogging or other forms of digital marketing.
5. Build Links Through Guest Posting
Guest posting is a great way to build links for your affiliate marketing campaigns.
It involves reaching out to relevant websites in your niche and offering them quality content in exchange for a link back to your website or blog post.
When it comes to finding sites that accept guest posts, you have several options.
You can search Google using keywords such as “guest post” or “write for us” along with terms related to the topic of your article.
You can also use tools like Ahrefs or Buzzsumo which allow you to search for websites that accept guest posts within specific topics.
Once you find potential sites, make sure they are reputable and have an audience that would be interested in reading what you have written.
Also, check their guidelines carefully before submitting any content – some may require certain formatting requirements or even payment (I’d avoid those).
When writing the actual article, make sure it provides value and is well-written so that it stands out from other submissions and gets accepted by the site owner quickly.
Include relevant royalty free images if possible too; this will help draw attention to your piece and encourage people to click through from the host site back to yours.
I’ve recently started to use AI image generators to create custom and unique images from scratch, and editors love them!
Link building through guest posting isn’t about getting more visitors though; it’s all about improving SEO rankings by creating high-quality backlinks from authoritative sources.
To do this effectively, link back to your own content with relevant and helpful resources that make sense to include.
This helps tell search engines what page they should rank higher when someone searches those terms online.
Finally, don’t forget about promotion; share it on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn so more people can see it.
This will help drive additional traffic back towards both yours and the host website’s pages – a win-win situation all round.
Guest posting is a great way to build links and increase your visibility, but it’s important to always be open to pivoting and trying new tactics when something isn’t working.
Let’s explore further!
Keynotes
Guest posting is a great way to build links and improve SEO rankings. To do this effectively, make sure you:
- Research relevant sites that accept guest posts
- Follow their guidelines
- Write quality content with images
- Include a link pointing back to your content.
6. Pivot into what works
Pivoting in business is a key part of success. It’s important to be able to recognize when something isn’t working and adjust accordingly.
I’ve pivoted my own content 3-4 times during a calendar year, and it’s what you have to do in order to find what works for you.
The best way to do this is by using data, clicks, impressions and early rankings as indicators of what works (let the market tell you!).
It seems like a simple subject, but so many mess up with this as they generally pick a super narrow niche.
If you’re the guy who picked the niche “fishtanksetups101”, you can’t really start talking about Bitcoin with a site like that now can you?
With a personal brand, you have all the room in the world to try different sub niches until you find success, and this is key to business.
Change or get left behind.
Keynotes
In order to effectively pivot your content marketing strategy, it is important to use analytics and data to focus on areas that have seen positive engagement for increased ROI.
7. Join affiliate networks
Did you notice how I never even bothered talking about anything related to affiliate marketing programs up until this last step?
That’s the thing, no matter how you look at it, there is no use thinking about:
- Average order value
- The best affiliate programs
- Payouts
- Affiliate agreements
- And conversion rates
if you don’t have a site with content published and proper authority built up. It’s just a waste of time and energy.
Your absolute first priority is going through step 1-6 and DO THE WORK. Then look into joining affiliate networks, adding links, building relationships and sponsorship deals, etc.
It’s the very last step, and everything hinges on your work beforehand.
Affiliate Marketing Checklist FAQs
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What are the 3 pillars of affiliate marketing?
1. Keyword Research: You can have the best content in the world and build links to it, but if no one searches for it then what’s the point?
2. Content Creation: Creating content that is relevant to your target audience and provides value is essential for successful affiliate marketing.
3. Link Building: Building up your authority and credibility in your choses sub niches is what will allow you to rank properly on the SERPs.
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How do beginners start with affiliate marketing
By following the affiliate marketing checklist in this guide!
These are the steps:
- Create a website
- Do keyword research
- Understand search intent
- Create content at scale
- Optimize it with SEO tools
- Pivot into what works
Wrap Up
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online, but it’s important to do it the right way, or you risk wasting years without seeing the slightest return on your time and investment.
By following this checklist closely and pivoting into what works best for you along the way, you’ll be able to create an effective affiliate marketing strategy that helps you reach your goals!