Can you really start affiliate marketing… without a website or blog?
For certain, building your own website is the best and most effective way of affiliate marketing in the long term.
If you’re nervous about building your first website and thinking you lack the technical skills required – honestly, there’s no need to worry!
Building a website is so easy these days. Check out this video where you can see how easy it is to build a basic website in seconds.
I had no technical knowledge when I started and you do just pick things up as you go along.
HOWEVER… if you’re just too unsure about it and not in the mood right now to commit to having a website, there are ways in which you can get your links visible to others.
I will go over a few of the key ways that you could try, that may give you some success, (if you’re very careful).
YouTube
This is a slightly dodgy one, because so many people would not dream in a million years of putting themselves on YouTube.
But actually, there are ways you can do it that are less scary for some.
For example, you could choose a niche that doesn’t involve recording you, (if you have any pets, we all know how popular cat and dog videos are!).
You could also use some free software such as screencast-o-matic that actually records your screen, so you’ll just be hearing your voice.
There are also animated videos that you can either create yourself, through a software such as powtoon – or also have them created affordably for you, on somewhere like Fiverr.com
What you then do is choose a niche that you have an interest in and you can post an affiliate link in the description of your video.
Don’t forget that your affiliate product needs to be related to what your videos are about.
Don’t just put some random links in there, they need to be targeted, or you’ll have zero luck with it.
If you just look like a SPAM channel and YouTube decides you’re not providing enough value, they will just shut you down.
Popular ideas for channels can include…
- Cooking demonstrations
- Makeup tutorials
- Comedy based/silly cat videos etc
- Product Reviews
People do like to laugh on YouTube, so if you can come up with something that’s also amusing, that could help you get more social shares.
If you have any cute pets, you know how popular those kind of posts can be!
Just look at the success of Cole & Marmalade, (they are shared all over the place…millions of views and shares…)
While they don’t have any direct links to affiliate products in their description, they DO have links to all their social media channels, blog AND their online shop.
Not to mention, they will be earning via Google Adsense on their videos, which is a decent chunk of change for millions of viewers.
Related Post: How can you make $100 a day online?
Social Media, Such As Facebook And Pinterest.
You could set up a fan page for something that specifically interests you – and this could be anything if there is a decent enough audience for it.
Do some budget facebook Ads to build your audience, you could possibly offer them a freebie in exchange for liking your page, (this could be a report or an ebook – which has affiliate links within it!).
Build up your audience and you can share affiliate links on your page directly – sharing products that you recommend.
Just make sure you’re adding regular good content without affiliate links too.
Pinterest stopped affiliate links, but now allows them again – and similarly with Facebook, you should decide on your niche initially before you start.
Make sure you’re not JUST pinning affiliate links, but pinning other peoples posts also.
Make sure all your boards have a set theme or category in mind and all look aesthetically pleasing.
Similarly, you can also add links on twitter – but don’t just spam affiliate links.
Make sure what you’re posting is relevant to your readers and following online.
It may also help to include links when you’re actually part of some discussion online, rather than just throwing links out there and hoping for the best.
If you had a website, I’d primarily suggest linking to a post that you’d written that contained affiliate links, rather than just putting out direct ones.
However, you could also link to a hub page, which that could contain affiliate links. This would act like a bit of an intermediary and could be more successful.
I’ll talk about hub pages next.
HubPages
Well confession time – I have never created a Hub myself, but I did see that using HubPages is one way of affiliate marketing without an actual website that you own.
Albeit, unlikely a successful way.
A HubPage is essentially like a one page website and the idea is, you create a page of content based on something you’re interested in.
You can add all sorts of extras to your Hub including – videos, tables, photos, quizzes and more importantly – links!
But do check out the HubPages terms and conditions before you proceed, they will just shut you down if they don’t think you’re actually providing any value.
I have read that HubPages really aren’t so keen on affiliate marketers, so if that’s you’re sole intention, your page will most likely be flagged.
Forums and Blogs
Another way to post your affiliate links, which I think can be a risky one to solely rely on, is via forums and blogs.
Now, lots of affiliate marketers will do this in addition to having their own website and this can be easier, because they can also link to posts on their website, (rather than direct affiliate links).
If you’re directly adding affiliate links, you need to tread very cautiously.
By just spamming links and not providing value, you will very quickly get banned.
Lots of people post comments on my own blog, (for example) with affiliate links and I either immediately add those comments as spam OR, (if the comment does hold any value) I accept the comment, but delete the affiliate links.
One way I talked about generating free traffic to a website in a previous post, is via QUORA,(which is a question and answer site).
But people on Quora do also link directly to affiliate products within their answers.
This is allowed, but you are meant to disclose any affiliate links within your post, or risk having your posts removed.
They can also ban you from answering any questions; or even editing your posts if they believe you’re spamming – (having been banned several times, I have learnt this the hard way).
So, ensure you answer questions on forums fully and consider also linking to other helpful information in response, (not just your affiliate links).
Ebooks!
Another way you could get your affiliate links out there, is via an ebook.
You can add links within your ebook to affiliate products, (as long as you don’t plan to sell on amazon, you can’t link to affiliate products in that case, although you can link to other websites).
You could sell your ebook on ebay, or you could contact bloggers within your niche and ask if they’d like to give your ebook away as a freebie.
Then it’s a bit of a win win: The bloggers will have some content to provide their readers for free and you can benefit from affiliate sales.
If you were using multiple of these methods to get affiliate sales, you could also share your ebook link on social media, YouTube and in forums.
I have commonly seen links posted in forums to a squeeze page where you can download email free courses or ebooks, (although generally these people have websites & are building their email list).
If You Never Have A Website!?!
Some of the biggest problems with not having a website, is that you could lose your income very quickly and you’ll have to constantly work at it to stay afloat.
When you have your own website and build on it overtime, you gradually start to generate forms of passive income – you may make money from a post that you’ve barely touched in months or years.
That’s one of the best things about having a blog or website – you’re actually building something and you reap the benefits from all your efforts in the future.
While you may have some success affiliate marketing by posting on forums, or creating YouTube videos – it’s risky to rely on solely, because you don’t have any control over that content.
Forums can ban you, You Tube can shut you down and in one fell swoop, your income can diminish entirely overnight.
If you own your own website, that site is your own little piece of internet property and it should become the foundation of your business.
Also, some affiliate programs will not accept you at all, unless you have your own website.
There is also simply no reason to not start a website now. It’s so quick to set one up – so swallow up that fear and just get your website sorted.
If you want some affiliate marketing training and the ability to set up a quick free website, I highly recommend the training right here.
You can check it out for free, so give it a go.
Have you had much success with affiliate marketing without a website? Or are you just getting started?
Let me know in the comments!
All the best,
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