Affiliate Marketing Without Money: Discovering how to kickstart affiliate marketing in Nigeria can be immensely profitable, as individuals genuinely earn money online from the convenience of their homes on a daily basis.
Affiliate Marketing Without Money
All that’s required are a blog, unwavering commitment, a well-devised marketing strategy, and a discerning eye for valuable online affiliate marketing programs.
Today, you will delve into the fundamentals of affiliate marketing, explore its advantages, and gain insights into how to embark on this journey in Nigeria.
Are you ready? Let’s get started.
Affiliate Marketing in Nigeria
Affiliate marketing operates as a marketing arrangement where a business compensates you for every visitor or customer you bring to them through your marketing endeavors.
Your compensation is linked to your ability to generate leads or facilitate sales for the business, in accordance with the agreement in place.
In the realm of affiliate marketing, your primary task involves endorsing a product or service to your audience and readers, using customized tracking links. Subsequently, you receive a referral commission each time an individual makes a purchase through your provided link.
Affiliate marketing is a lucrative online business venture to explore in Nigeria. It offers unlimited earning potential, enabling you to earn without restrictions.
Becoming an affiliate marketer in Nigeria is a straightforward process. You simply need to:
- Select a niche that aligns with your interests.
- Register for an affiliate program that suits your chosen niche.
- Opt for an offer within that program.
- Commence your promotional efforts.
With these steps, you can embark on your affiliate marketing journey in Nigeria.
Difference between CPA Marketing and Affiliate Marketing
Both affiliate marketing and CPA marketing share a common foundation of the visitor-affiliate-business relationship. However, there are distinct differences between the two approaches.
In CPA marketing, earning a commission does not hinge on making a sale. Instead, it relies on users taking specific actions, such as completing a form, providing an email address, signing up for a free trial, downloading an eBook, creating an account, subscribing to a newsletter, or participating in a survey.
Furthermore, CPA marketing typically offers a fixed-rate commission structure. In contrast, other affiliate marketing models compensate you based on a percentage of the conversions you generate, such as receiving 10% of the customer’s purchase. In affiliate marketing, your earnings are contingent on the prospective customer making a purchase.
While CPA marketing may be considered more straightforward, the commission rates are generally lower compared to affiliate marketing. CPA payouts can be as modest as $0.10, whereas affiliate marketing commissions can soar to as high as $1,000 for a single sale.
In CPA marketing, the primary focus is on generating leads, while it falls upon the affiliate company to transform those prospects into actual buyers.
Difference between Affiliate Marketing and Network Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a sales model that leverages affiliates through online platforms to enhance product or service visibility, allowing them to earn commissions from generated sales or leads.
Network marketing, on the other hand, is a business model centered around person-to-person sales conducted by a network of distributors.
How Affiliate Marketing Works in Nigeria
Here’s how affiliate marketing operates in Nigeria:
To illustrate, suppose I wish to sell a ₦30,000 course on mini-importation. I list this course on an affiliate network or program, where I establish a 40% commission rate, which is agreed upon by both me and the affiliate network.
Now, if you are an affiliate marketer and decide to join this affiliate network, you can promote the course and sell it using your unique affiliate link. For each successful sale you make, you’ll earn ₦12,000 in commission, which is 40% of the ₦30,000 course price.
If you manage to make 10 sales, you’ll receive a total of ₦120,000 (₦12,000 x 10) in commissions. As the course creator, I will receive ₦18,000 as my share.
It’s worth noting that I may still owe a portion of my ₦18,000 payment to the affiliate network, based on the terms we previously agreed upon for their assistance in facilitating these sales.
It’s important to mention that I also have the option to set up my own personal affiliate program. If you register for my program and directly promote and sell the course, you will still receive a commission based on the percentage I specified for affiliates.
Now, let’s delve into the various components of a successful affiliate marketing system.
Affiliate Marketing Terminologies
Affiliate marketing operates in a straightforward and intriguing manner.
However, before delving into the entire process, it’s essential to grasp some key terms associated with it.
1. Affiliates or Publishers
Bloggers, influencers, or marketers endorse products on affiliate platforms by sharing them with their audience through unique affiliate links. When someone they refer makes a purchase through these links, they earn a commission.
2. Advertisers (Merchants)
These are businesses seeking to promote their products by leveraging the affiliate’s network and audience.
These enterprises aim to boost product visibility through an affiliate’s network and audience. They seek partnerships with affiliates who can effectively market their offerings to a broader audience. By leveraging the affiliate’s reach and credibility, these businesses hope to increase sales and brand exposure, ultimately driving revenue growth. Affiliates play a crucial role in bridging the gap between these companies and potential customers, earning commissions for successful referrals. This mutually beneficial relationship allows businesses to expand their market reach while rewarding affiliates for their marketing efforts, creating a win-win situation in the world of affiliate marketing.
3. Affiliate Networks (Programs)
These platforms serve as intermediaries, connecting affiliates and advertisers.
Affiliates can register on these websites to promote both physical and digital products, while businesses and course creators utilize these platforms to showcase their offerings.
4. Visitors
They are the individuals to whom affiliates promote products, comprising the customer base that makes purchases. Affiliates earn commissions by facilitating specific actions, most commonly sales, within this customer demographic. In this symbiotic relationship, affiliates leverage their marketing skills to attract and persuade potential buyers. These customers, in turn, make purchases, generating revenue for the affiliate and sales for the businesses. Through effective promotion and customer engagement, affiliates enable conversions, allowing both parties to benefit from the resulting transactions. This dynamic underscores the core mechanism of affiliate marketing, where affiliates bridge the gap between businesses and their consumer audience.
5. Affiliate Link
This is a distinctive tracking link provided by your merchant or affiliate network to monitor the performance of your affiliate marketing efforts.
6. Affiliate ID
Much like the affiliate link, numerous affiliate programs provide a distinct ID or HTML code that you can insert into any page on your website where the product is being promoted.
7. CPC Affiliate Program
A CPC (Cost Per Click) or PPC (Pay Per Click) affiliate program is a model where your earnings are determined by the number of clicks you direct to your affiliate merchants.
8. PPL Affiliate Program
The Pay Per Lead Affiliate Program resembles CPC but focuses on compensation for generating leads, such as email addresses or phone numbers.
In this case, your referrals only need to provide their email or phone, and you earn a commission for each submission.
Why is Affiliate Marketing popular?
Affiliate marketing has gained widespread popularity due to the numerous advantages it provides, including:
1. It’s Easy to Get Started
To commence your affiliate marketing journey, all you essentially require is a website with substantial traffic. In some cases, you can initiate without a website, instead utilizing platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or YouTube for product promotion. The key to earning commissions is cultivating an engaged audience interested in the products you endorse.
2. You Do Not Need to Create or Own a Product
As an affiliate marketer, you are not obligated to possess or develop any products yourself. Your primary tasks involve enrolling in reputable affiliate programs, choosing the products to promote, obtaining affiliate links, and marketing products that are already created and owned by merchants.
3. Low Risk
Commencing an affiliate venture doesn’t necessitate a significant financial outlay. As for businesses, their expenses are only incurred when a visitor successfully completes an action, typically a purchase.
This contrasts with models like Google AdSense, which rely on per-click or per-impression payments, where costs are incurred with each click, whereas in affiliate marketing, payments occur when a visitor converts into a customer.
4. Low Investment
Affiliate marketing proves profitable not only for affiliates but also for businesses.
Rather than investing heavily in their marketing endeavors, business owners promote their products through their affiliate partners.
The primary expense incurred is the commission paid to affiliates, which is only disbursed after achieving the desired results.
5. Simple to Manage
This high-income skill may require some time to grasp its workings and kickstart the process.
However, once you’ve established your presence, affiliate marketing demands relatively little effort and is easy to oversee.
6. Passive Income
You don’t need to work constantly to generate income in affiliate marketing. It functions like an income funnel that continues to generate earnings over time, even while you’re sleeping or not actively working.
Once you strategically place your affiliate links on high-traffic websites, visitors can access your site and these links at their convenience, regardless of your online presence. If they find a product they like, they can effortlessly make a purchase with a simple click.
The only challenging task is checking your inbox to monitor sales generated through your links or the payment of commissions. I’m sure that doesn’t sound too difficult for you.
7. Multiple Income Source
As an affiliate marketer, you have the freedom to join and collaborate with as many affiliate programs as you desire because you are your own boss.
In this setup, you are not reliant on a single network to receive your payments.
Steps to Starting Affiliate Marketing in Nigeria Fast
Here’s what it requires to become a highly successful affiliate marketer in Nigeria.
1. Choose Your Niche
Affiliate marketing is far from a get-rich-quick scheme; it’s a business that requires careful cultivation. To excel in this endeavor, you must possess a genuine passion for the industry and be prepared to invest your effort.
Before embarking on the journey of establishing your blog or crafting your marketing strategy, it’s crucial to define your affiliate niche, considering:
- Your expertise
- Your skills
- Your experience
- Your passion
- Interest on the topic
- Profitability of the niche
- Niche competition
- Availability of affiliate programs
Your niche defines both the market you aim to enter and the products you offer your audience, making it a critical aspect of your affiliate marketing strategy. It plays a pivotal role in determining which affiliate programs are worth your focus and what you want your business to be recognized for.
Within niches, there are multi-niches and sub-niches.
For instance, a multi-niche could revolve around SPORTS BETTING.
If you’re a sports enthusiast or a gambler, you’d promote various upcoming games—football, basketball, tennis, and boxing—using your affiliate links to reach your blog visitors or social media followers.
On the other hand, a sub-niche like FOOTBALL BETTING narrows your focus to promoting football bets within specific leagues worldwide, excluding other sports.
Similarly, a multi-niche like TECHNOLOGY involves promoting various electronic gadgets like phones, laptops, and TVs to your blog visitors or social media followers.
But a sub-niche such as LATEST ANDROID PHONES narrows it down further to exclusively promoting the latest Android phones to a targeted audience of potential customers.
Concentrating on a sub-niche can help you attract leads who are more likely to purchase your affiliate products, rather than those who might land on your website and leave. It avoids confusing your audience with unrelated topics like soccer, swimming, car races, boxing, and wrestling, which could otherwise affect your overall turnover.
Examples of lucrative affiliate niches to consider include:
- Sports Betting
- Travel Abroad
- Study Abroad
- Make Money Online
- Weight Loss (Slim Teas, Meal Plans etc.)
- Cooking Guide and Healthy Eating
- Electronic Gadgets
- Skincare and Beauty Products
- Natural and Herbal Remedies
- Web Hosting
- Fertility Products
- General Health
- Personal Development
- Security
In the realm of affiliate marketing, it’s crucial to select a niche, product, or service that offers practical solutions and appeals to a broad audience.
One particularly lucrative field to explore as an affiliate marketer is the health sector. People are often willing to go to great lengths, even emptying their pockets, to address health issues. This applies to everyone, including yourself, as individuals are often determined to overcome health challenges.
Similarly, the security niche is another promising area. Both you and I are willing to make significant investments to ensure the safety of our families, cars, homes, stores, and businesses.
In the realms of health, fertility, and beauty, there’s a considerable demand for products that enhance well-being. Many women, for instance, are more than willing to purchase items that facilitate childbirth (such as fertility teas), alleviate health conditions (like ulcer treatments and arthritis pain relief), or enhance their appearance (including bone-straight wigs and stretch mark removers), regardless of the cost.
Men are no exception. They’re inclined to invest in products that boost their attractiveness (such as beard growth oils) or improve their reproductive health and endurance in intimate matters.
Parents are also a prime target audience. They are eager to acquire products and services that promote their children’s intelligence, cleanliness, and overall health.
Benefits of focusing on a Niche
- To help consumers identify your business in the crowd.
- Targeting and maintaining good customer relations.
- To help establish authority in your niche.
- To help find the best affiliate marketing program that supports your niche.
2. Start a Blog
Once you’ve completed your research on your chosen affiliate niche, the next step is to establish a blog to effectively promote products within that niche.
Creating a blog centered around your affiliate business can transform it into a source of recurring income. With a blog, you have the potential to generate revenue from your previous efforts, even when you’re not actively working.
Fortunately, building a blog has become remarkably straightforward, thanks to platforms like WordPress and domain registration services like Namecheap.
To get your blog site up and running today, follow these simple steps:
Get a Domain Name
Your initial priority should be securing a domain name for your affiliate business.
Your domain name serves as the identity of your website. For instance, consider my own domain name, “siwesbeginner.com.”
It’s essential to search for a distinctive name, keeping in mind that your first choice may already be in use. Therefore, it’s wise to have multiple alternatives in mind.
Numerous platforms offer options for obtaining a suitable domain name, with Namecheap being one of them.
Here are some pointers to help you select an appropriate domain name:
- Select a domain name that reflects both your identity and your niche. Opting for a self-titled domain or including your name is a smart move, as it allows readers to establish a connection with the person behind the blog.
- Ensure that your domain name is easy to spell and pronounce. Avoid incorporating misspelled words, numbers, or hyphens into your domain name, as these elements can make it more challenging for people to remember.
- Check the availability of the .com version of your chosen name. It’s advisable to steer clear of less common and less memorable extensions like .net or .org.
- Make certain that your domain name is relevant to your affiliate niche. This way, visitors can quickly discern the focus of your blog. For instance, “spotless.com” or “skinmagic.com” is an excellent choice for a skincare blog, while “healthyliving.com” is ideal for a health-oriented blog.
- Consider using alternative words if the desired domain name is unavailable. For instance, if “skinmagic.com” isn’t accessible for your skincare blog, you could explore “magicskin.com.”
- If you’re struggling to come up with a catchy name for your blog, using your full name as the domain name is a reliable option. This ensures a personal touch and helps establish your online presence.
If you already have a domain name in mind, take a moment to check its availability below and secure it today before other affiliates beat you to it!
Buy and Set Up Hosting for Your Website
Much like a domain name serves as the address of your website, hosting is akin to the actual residence where your website resides.
If you haven’t already acquired hosting, my top recommendation is Namecheap.
The quality of your hosting service significantly impacts your website’s performance on the internet, including its loading speed. Therefore, choosing the right hosting company is paramount because subpar hosting can lead to unexpected downtimes for your website.
WordPress Installation
Once you’ve configured your web hosting with your chosen domain name, the next step is to install WordPress on your website.
The advantage is that if you’re utilizing Namecheap, WordPress comes pre-installed.
This means you won’t need to go through the hassle of manual installations.
3. Drive Traffic to Your Blog
Now that your blog is up and running, the next crucial step is to drive substantial traffic by providing valuable, problem-solving content for your audience.
To achieve success in affiliate marketing, you have two primary options:
- Harness free traffic from your blog and social media platforms (such as WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, etc.).
- Execute paid advertising campaigns.
For newcomers who may not have the budget for paid advertising, it’s essential to focus on learning Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and incorporating targeted keywords into your content creation.
While this approach takes time to yield results, it can lead to a steady stream of organic traffic once your content begins to rank for those keywords.
However, attracting readers to your site is only the first step. To keep them coming back for more, you must consistently produce high-quality content.
To create exceptional content for your blog, here are some key qualities to keep in mind:
- Relevance and strategically placed keywords.
- Addresses a pivotal question (or a key question along with related ones).
- Uniqueness, readability, and clarity, often enhanced with relevant images when appropriate.
Please note that content encompasses various forms, such as articles, text, images, videos, infographics, slideshows, podcasts, webinars, and more.
I recommend establishing a consistent posting schedule for your articles. Start by publishing a few posts per week, and gradually increase the frequency to daily updates.
To create high-quality content, thorough research is essential. Continuously read blogs within your niche for inspiration. However, avoid direct copying, as this can lead to penalties from search engines like Google. Instead, gather topics, gather ideas, and seek inspiration.
Subsequently, infuse your unique voice, style, and perspective into your content when incorporating these ideas into your blog.
For instance, if your niche is skincare, you might compose a comprehensive article titled “7 Best Creams for Stretch Mark Removal in Nigeria.” Similarly, if you focus on the Android phone niche, you could write an in-depth piece on “10 Best Android Phones Under ₦100k to Buy in Nigeria.”
4. Find an Offer and Join Affiliate Programs
After your website starts receiving substantial traffic, the next step is to seek out affiliate programs that you can join and obtain your customized affiliate links.
When considering an affiliate offer, it’s crucial to verify its availability for your country and the type of traffic you receive.
Take a close look at the product or company’s landing page to ensure it appears professional, appealing, and trustworthy. Avoid offers that raise suspicions or appear dubious.
Once you’ve identified a suitable offer, proceed to join the affiliate network where it is listed. This typically involves completing application forms.
Selecting the right affiliate program is pivotal to ensuring the success of your affiliate marketing endeavors. Factors to consider include the alignment between your niche and the affiliate program, the reputation and offerings of the merchants, the marketability of their products and services, and the commission’s value.
Upon acceptance into the affiliate network, you can begin promoting the offer on your website. Be sure to strategically place your affiliate links within your content to maximize clicks and generate sales.
When marketing the product, aim for an approach that doesn’t come across as overly salesy and doesn’t deter your audience.
To thrive in affiliate marketing, it’s essential that your niche, content, and promoted products resonate with your target audience. This alignment is key to your success in this field.
5. Start Building an Email List
One of the most common mistakes made by both new and experienced affiliates is failing to initiate email list building right from the outset.
Many visitors to your blog may drop by once and never return, as they may already have alternative sources for content similar to what you offer. The most effective way to entice them back is by encouraging them to subscribe to your newsletter.
When subscribers receive emails from you about new posts, they’re more likely to click and read, eventually developing trust in your blog and visiting it directly.
Neglecting to build an email list from the very beginning can significantly diminish your chances of becoming a successful affiliate marketer. If you rely solely on platforms like Facebook ads, Google SEO, or other marketing channels and they face issues or blacklist you, all your marketing efforts could go to waste.
A valuable tool for collecting and sending emails to your newsletter subscribers, managing marketing campaigns, and tracking leads is GetResponse.
GetResponse offers a range of solutions to cater to diverse and multifaceted customer needs. You can start using GetResponse with their FREE plan today, and when you’re ready to elevate your affiliate business and marketing efforts to the next level, consider upgrading to one of their premium plans.
I personally use GetResponse, and I can attest to the excellence of their service.
6. Promote Your Blog and Grow Your Audience
Promoting your blog is crucial for building an audience and, ultimately, turning it into a profitable venture.
Some promotional strategies are straightforward to implement, while others may demand a bit more time and potentially some financial investment.
Here are various approaches you can employ to boost the visibility of your blog:
- Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)
- Guest Posting
- Paid advertising
- Sending emails to subscribers
If your visitors, readers, and fans perceive that your sole focus is on extracting their money without offering solutions to their issues, they will abandon you and seek assistance from someone who genuinely aims to assist them.
For instance, if you operate a sports betting blog and use it as a platform to endorse Bet9ja, 1xBet, and BetKing, it’s reasonable to expect that you will generate significant sales and commissions.
Likewise, if you manage a tech blog and monetize it by promoting high-quality, affordable Android phones, you have the potential to earn substantial income because you’re promoting products that align with your visitors’ likely interests.
To achieve substantial earnings through the promotion of digital or physical products, it’s crucial to maintain a blog that attracts individuals with a genuine interest in purchasing such products.
Conclusion
Affiliate marketing presents a mutually beneficial opportunity for both businesses and affiliates involved.
For businesses, it offers a means to bolster profits by reducing marketing expenditures and increasing sales. On the other hand, affiliates earn commissions when their website visitors make purchases through their exclusive affiliate links.
When executed correctly, affiliate marketing can serve as a lucrative source of passive income. To excel in this endeavor, one must have a solid grasp of the fundamentals, commence the journey in the right manner, craft high-quality content that addresses specific problems, and cultivate a following on their blog and social media platforms to attract potential customers predisposed to buying the products they endorse.
Numerous product companies across various industries, such as fashion and web hosting, frequently operate affiliate programs. Participating in these programs involves a straightforward process: sign up, receive a personalized tracking link, create content like product reviews or other marketable materials, and strategically incorporate your custom link within your posts. Compensation is earned when individuals visit the company’s website through your link and make a purchase.
As you embark on your affiliate marketing journey in Nigeria, I extend my best wishes for your success.
